Safari Love
by Michelicious
Summary: Misty can't wait to enter the Safari Quest, a contest, with Ash but turns out he's with May. Somehow, she ends up with Gary Oak. With rivalry and love on their tail, will they realize there is more to winning than just first place? Ego/Advanceshipping.
1. Prologue

_IMPORTANT NOTE:  
This is long overdue. I wish I could have some good excuse. Something like: I survived cancer. Unfortunately, I don't. Or maybe I do if you agree with high school being as bad. Some never get over it you know? Anyway I won't bring reality into this: Last I time I checked (I know it was years ago) this site was about fiction. By the way, A LOT has changed around here! Is egoshipping still underrated? In fact, is anyone still reading pokemon fics?_

_Just know that I've been away and that my younger self already scolded me for my irresponsible attitude. I had this huge writer's block (wait, this isn't an excuse), so I rewriting most of this fic (see?). The good news is that my English is way better than when I was fourteen. Bad news (there's always some)? I haven't written anything in ages and don't know anything about Pokemon past Hoenn. Ash has become this huge pimp apparently. Whatevs. Like I was saying, some patient and loyal readers might have to re-read this. Hopefully, it'll be less painful._

Again,_ I am really sorry for the people who waited for this. I confess, I stopped reading reviews, pms and reviewing all together. It might not make much sense but I was trying to escape my virtual life. Okay, it doesn't. Especially with facebook. Old friends reading this, thank you. New people too though you might be wondering what this whole text is about. Take a look at the published date, if you have any doubts._

_Consider this my late (again) year resolution._

**Special thanks to Saani for helping me with that project. To readers and cyber friends too, of course. Reviews are always appreciated.  
****For past readers: Though altering how certain events took place, key moments are still there.  
For first-timers: I decided to only change story content everything else is intact so don't expect to know what I'm talking about in italic comments I was a cute babbling idiot lol  
Page breaks are both for time lapse and change of characters, you've been warned. I can get confusing.**

_Finally here's Safari Love, this chapter is just about the idea. I prefer that the readers already know for the contest that letting you be confused a little more in every chapter, not knowing all the rules but I may add some though (I'm not perfect loll) anyways_

_Here it is:_

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

The Safari Zone was suffering from a great loss of popularity as of late. Near bankruptcy, the owners decided to play a big 'sink or swim' gamble by creating a major event with all of their leftover funds. The event would include trainers from all around the three regions; Kanto, Johto and Hoenn, and would ultimately be, if they played their cards right, the biggest commercial event in the Pokemon world. Money was spent shamelessly on publicity and eventually the Safari Quest, as they had come to call it, became what every magazine would refer to as the 'Event of The Year'. Every trainer's mind was filled with dreams of the money and glory that this competition could bring them; it was absurd to even think of not entering.

After months of planning, the countdown was down to two weeks until the grand event. Posters, Magazines and TV advertisements everywhere displayed the rules for the Safari Quest;

* * *

_- The objective of the competition is to find The Treasure and keep it. The team with The Treasure at the end of the week wins. _

_- Teams must consist of two trainers, each of the opposite sex. Each trainer is allowed only one Pokeball._

_- Teams will be provided with food and equipment, two empty Safariballs per trainer, as well as a Safaridex, donated by one of our sponsors; Professor Oak. The dex is the team's only contact with the outside world, and an information source on both the game and fellow contestants, as well as wild Pokemon. Any unclaimed items found in the zone are free game and may be kept._

_- Trainers are expected to fight battles; a challenge cannot be ignored with the exception of rematches. Two-on-two battles are allowed and even encouraged._

_- To be considered a legitimate challenge, the battle has to have something at stake. Anything may be used as a bargaining chip as long as all parties agree with it, the only exception being The Treasure. Any team who possesses it cannot choose not to wager it._

_- To advance in the game, teams have to gather star tokens, acquired by challenging other trainers. Each trainer begins with three stars each (making a total of six per team), which can be gained or lost through wagering and battling. It is possible to share tokens between teammates. If a trainer loses all their tokens they and their teammate are disqualified and will be granted 'dead' status. _

_- 'Dead' status is granted to anyone (and their teammate) that loses the game, breaks the rules, cheats, or for any reason chooses to forfeit or use the emergency safety shelters. Forfeiting can be done at any time via a function on the Safaridex. A Safarian will be dispatched immediately to escort 'dead' teams out._

_- Safarians are referees that will be out in the Safari Zone with the players. They are highly trained and there to ensure everyone has a safe and fun experience. _

_- A qualification round will be mandatory. Trainers will be evaluated by Safari Quest Staff, and due to the risk involved, only trainers with a certain level of training and survival skills will be allowed in._

_- Before entering, bags will be checked for security purposes. Constant camera supervision is also present in the zone, both for regulation and entertainment. _

_Prizes: The winning team keeps The Treasure and will be awarded a money prize. Participation prizes are also up for grabs._

_Please note: The Safari Zone isn't responsible for any injuries, loss of valuables, or relationship...issues. Any questions or concerns should be taken to your local Pokecenter; our representatives stationed there will be happy to help._

* * *

Every trainer had made sure to read the rules through at least 10 times to make sure they hadn't overlooked anything. Ash, planning on entering himself, had read them over a hundred times as Brock, Max and May helped him train and shop for the contest. Only two more weeks!

* * *

**End of prologue**

_I know it's just a setting, but still how do you find the idea? Be honest! If it sucks I'll stop. I planned on doing a love square between Ash/May/Gary/Misty but it's possible that I changed my mind during the story. Anyways thx for reading, I'll update ASAP plz review:D Oh, and don't forget to tell me if you see any mistake!_

_C ya!_

_~michelicious_


	2. Have you asked anyone yet?

**_PRESENT ME: Expect fast updates, I am ahead in my chapters. Beats the opposite any day! Thanks to people reading this! It means a lot to me. To answer some questions, this story is advanceshippy too. You can only tag two characters with a fic. Just be patient and try to enjoy the egoshippy parts too! Would love to hear you out if you have comments. Reviews or PM alike. :)_**

_Here's the second chappie! Loll hope you guys enjoy and aren't too much disappointed after waiting for so long –May 3rd… I rewrote a little bit this chapter… it disgusted me to a certain point c ya-_

* * *

**Chapter ****One**** –**** Have you asked anyone yet?**

* * *

Misty had spent the previous day packing a month's worth of things for her trip; hopefully, what she'd managed would be more than enough, since it had actually been a bit of a challenge to fit in all the hygiene products, clothes and tools. She knew it was a lost cause to try and contain her excitement however. There was less than a week left before the official start of the contest, and she, like almost every trainer in all three regions, had been no stranger to the countless ads about the Safari Quest plastered everywhere. Every snack, T.V show, or wall held some kind of relation to the competition and its growing popularity. Its motto, in particular, was impossible to miss. It was heard in publicity, in conversations, _everywhere_. The promise of adventure had barely been the only reason for all the noise surrounding the event. It was pretty popular among girls and Misty was no exception; she had planned to ask Ash to be her partner. If he wanted to enter with her, she was certain that together they could win the contest.

_'You're not doing it for the prize are you?'_ Her conscience teased. _'You want to be with Ash, the two of you alone, for a whole week huh?'_

"No way!" She yelled back, in a vain attempt to stifle the words in her head.

"Misty, what's wrong with you?" Asked Lily, one of her famous sisters. She entered the living room where Misty was sitting while waiting for her ride, and was surprised to see her concern met with a stern face. Unbeknownst to her, that look wasn't meant for her.

"No-nothing I was just thinking out loud…_again_," Misty replied, blushing when Lily giggled at her obvious inner commotion.

"Is this all about the contest? The one you want to enter with your little boyfriend?"

"What? Yes...I mean _no_! He's not my boyfriend! Anyway, how do you know I want to enter with him?" Misty questioned as though this were an affront to her tomboy image.

She was scared of Lily having the power to read her thoughts, especially her conscience's. That dangerous eventuality made her an easy target to paranoia. Amused, Lily sat down on their comfy sofa right next to her. Taking pity on Misty's panicked face, she seemed to weigh her words carefully before speaking again.

"You know, these past two weeks we've only seen you training and shopping. The shopping part was already suspicious and then just yesterday, you made a ruckus trying to fit all of your room's content in your bags," she explained, referring to herself and their other two sisters. "Plus, a lot of possible contestants came to ask for you to be their partner, and I don't think the sudden increase in disappointed male faces leaving this place has anything to do with our love lives. C'mon we're not dumb!" She paused to let out a giggle.

"Well..."

"Fine, we're not _that_ dumb." Lily still grinned despite the unkind admission. "Talking about dumb, you should really call him before...y'know. Who knows, maybe he's not planning on entering, or maybe he's…with someone else." The harsh possibility of that last bit made her the elder sister uneasy; 'hot-tempered Misty' wasn't really anyone's cup of tea, but having to deal with a 'hurt-feelings Misty' could definitely mess up her latest herbal cleanse effects.

"I don't think so, and anyway, it really is none of your business," Misty retorted, seeing movement out the kitchen window through the corner of her eye. Her taxi had arrived and not wanting to find valid arguments to her unfounded theory, she got up to retrieve her bags.

"Have it your way..." Lily mumbled before suddenly remembering the reason she first came to look for her sister; "Here, you almost forgot your information pamphlets. I found them on the kitchen counter."

"Oh. I pretty much remember everything there is on it, but thanks Lily," Misty said, smiling at her sister as she opened the front door, "My flight is this afternoon so guess I should be leaving now."

"Not already! We wanted to have lunch one last time together before you leave!"

"Sorry, but my ride's already here...as you can see," Misty said sheepishly, ignoring the complaint. She was starting to hate the atmosphere in the room. She was never one to enjoy goodbyes very much and just wanted to get it over with. No matter how heartless it might make her seem.

"How about we give you one?" Offered Lily.

"Huh? You would do that?"

"Damn right, we would." Violet, accompanied by Daisy, joined them, bearing smiles that betrayed how funny they thought Misty was for not even contemplating this possibility sooner. Who would choose a random stranger as an escort over the beautiful women who also happened to be her sisters? "We'll treat you to lunch on the way."

Violet went outside to apologize to the taxi driver and to pay him for his trouble and Daisy went to start the car, waiting patiently for everyone to join her. As promised, on the way to the airport, they did stop by a drive-thru to get Misty's favorite burger and fries, though they chose not to order anything for themselves, much to Misty's disapproval.

After what seemed like hours, Misty was finally about to board her plane when her sisters ambushed her in a group hug. Blushing at their public display of affection, she detached herself from the 3-headed hug monster, took her things and set on her way.

"Oh yeah… final piece of advice Mist; don't forget to watch your back!" Lily shouted after her.

"Especially with a guy around!" Daisy joined in, laughing.

Misty suddenly turned around. If they thought she was embarrassed by the hug just minutes ago, the new shade of red on her face told them another story. "Ash would never do that!"

"You never know with a guy," Violet, enjoying the show a little too much to Misty's liking, added knowingly. "We'll cheer for you."

"You three are just sick." With that Misty boarded the plane, never looking back. She would give her sisters the satisfaction of knowing that they had riled her up one last time. What they wouldn't get to know was that what she wore on her face, at that moment, was a smile; a grateful one for all their care and love.

_'I guess, I will miss them more than I first thought.'_

* * *

The Safari Zone for the contest wasn't the one in Fuchsia City, it had been moved to the new area found west of Cianwood. She had arrived to Olivine City, the major port town, and was amazed at how big it was. Through all the buildings and the sea of people, she quickly lost track of time and herself in the process. When asking for directions, she quickly learned that most trainers were staying in the Safari Hotel; a hotel that had been built especially for the occasion.

_'Wow. Big money is invested in that contest,' s_he thought, taking in the sights.

She internally praised the well thought out signs scattered around the place, as she didn't want to use up all of her free time getting lost when she had to find a most likely confused Ash Ketchum. _'Maybe Brock is with him_,' she thought, before sighing at the serious lack of relief that thought brought her; Brock loose in a big city where pretty girls were far from a rare sight? Not exactly a good thing.

Entering the hotel, she was pleasantly surprised to see that it held facilities designed for trainers wishing to train, relax, or simply enjoy their stay. After renting a room to stay in and getting her bags to it, she set out to find the boy she was hoping to turn into her partner. She went down to one of the training rooms, figuring he'd likely be there. The place was full of contestants training, either in teams or individually, while waiting eagerly for the event to start. She finally found her target in the biggest one; of course Ash's logic would be 'a bigger room for bigger results'. She smiled as she saw him training with his Pokemon and called out his name.

"Misty? What are you doing here?" Ash asked, looking rather shocked at her sudden appearance. He still, nevertheless, greeted her with a pleasant smile that made her feel all warm inside.

"Well I came to see you, stupid." Misty answered with an equally genuine smile.

"Really?" He then recalled his Swellow and Pikachu ran up to her, visibly happy with her presence.

She picked it up, twirled and threw it in the air, overjoyed to see her little yellow friend; "Hey Pikachu, it's been a while hasn't it?"

"Pikapi!"

She rubbed its head affectionately before turning her full attention back to Ash. "Not only that." She lowered her head, feeling the heat go up to her face, "I wanted to ask you if- well for starters, you're entering the safari contest right?" She knew that by now her cheeks were burning red and she prayed that Ash wouldn't notice anything, continuing to be his usual oblivious self.

"Of course I am!" He said, clueless to what Misty was about to ask of him and launching her a weird look; of course he'd think she had gone nuts if she thought he would pass up such an opportunity. Misty couldn't help but find Ash especially cute right then.

"Great, so am I!" She was relieved to have entered the main topic of conversation, even if it wasn't as smoothly as she had hoped.

_'Maybe I should have asked about Brock first,'_ she thought before continuing, "Don't you think it'd be great if we'd enter the contest together? As a team I mean!" She cursed herself for her foolishness. It was such a simple question, why was she so troubled with it? Ash, surprisingly, was also looking rather embarrassed; had she been too straight-forward?

"I'd love to, but I already asked May," He said sheepishly. "When I learned that it was a boy with a girl I asked her without any second thoughts. I'm sorry, Mist." He seemed seriously bothered now. "Oh! but you can still ask Brock! I'm sure he'd agree!" Ash exclaimed, proud to have come up with a quick solution to the problem, "We could even build up some alliance, you know. It would be great to have you two at our sides!"

Ash was getting excited with this new development, Misty could see it. It made her feel guilty. Not only had her sister tried to warn her and she'd ignored the advice, but now, her best friend was sincerely happy to see her while she just wanted to retreat to a deserted island. His words had summoned a bit of joy in her heart though when he had stated he wanted her by his side. Even if that same statement included the ex-Pewter gym leader. She tried to hide her disappointment and rejoice in these words. She did bring this upon herself by taking for granted that Ash wouldn't have a partner yet due his being clueless when it came to romance, completely forgetting about his friendly nature. Or again, for foolishly thinking he'd wait all this time for her to make a move. The contest had been announced for weeks now, after all. And his eyes... they were lighted up with so much enthusiasm, she couldn't help but to slowly start agreeing to his idea.

"Don't worry," he continued, "I'll convince Brock to have you as his partner. Leave it to me!" He gave her his signature grin and confidently shoved one of his thumb in his chest.

"What do you mean?" Misty was now confused by Ash's words; why would Ash flash her his 'nothing-is-impossible-for-me' smile? She could feel Pikachu fidgeting uncomfortably in her arms. Surely the electric mouse knew that whatever words were coming out next from its master's mouth, they were bad news.

"Didn't you come all the way here because you couldn't find a partner?" It was Ash's turn to be confused and a pregnant silence soon followed. Ash's eyes grew confused while Misty knew hers were slowly turning to furious. It seemed like her feelings weren't enough, Ash had to go and hurt one thing she held most dear about herself: her pride.

"Ash, I came to you because I wanted _you_ as a partner, no one else." Couldn't he see that?

"Misty, look I-I'm sorry I can't be your partner, like I said I already asked May. It sucks that there's no one else, but like I said I'm sure Brock would be okay to be your partner. Also, I have got to train," he mumbled the last part, "Let's go find Brock and ask him together!" He gloriously finished. Pikachu was now using its ears to cover its eyes from what it knew wasn't going to be a pretty scene or maybe it was his ears he was covering, wise enough to know yelling might soon be introduced.

"Forget it, Ash!" She stepped in, "I don't need Brock or-or you for that matter!" Misty was quick to lose her temper. "You've always been selfish Ash Ketchum!" She knew deep down that she wasn't being fair; he did want to help after all, even if she didn't need it and it was an insult to her ego. Nevertheless, it was too late as her mind seemed to follow after her temper, "I don't even know why the heck I care! Since you obviously believe no one would want me as a partner, I better just head back home!" Misty snapped before running off in tears.

Pikachu quickly jumped on Ash, motioning for him to go after her but Ash was glued to his spot, astonished and unable to understand, "What do you mean?" When he realized she'd run away, he shouted after her, "Wait Misty! We can work something out!"

But it was too late, she was gone.

* * *

"Ash, you stupid idiot, I hate you!" Screamed a furious Misty to whoever could hear her. It didn't matter that much that it wasn't intentionnal, her wound was deep. Of course, she had made sure to be out of Ash's hearing range, she didn't want to hurt him back. Although, her real concern was that he would be dumb enough to believe the deceptive words she was sprouting. Well, most of them were.

The sun was setting the whole city on fire as the evening was surviving its last moments, and Misty was sitting under a tree in the central park of the city. The scenery was gorgeous, but she was in no mood to enjoy it and she was grateful that most people were too busy having fun with friends and family to notice her despite her outburst. Hidden by the shadow of the tree she had made hers for the time being, she was again lost, but this time in the familiar territory that were her thoughts. Any concern for the outside world would just make her feel worse, as she knew the topic of any conversation was the Safari Quest and its now damned motto, 'Have you asked anyone yet?'.

"And I thought I would already be having fun with Ash, training and talking about the contest by now," She whined to herself, a sad smile appearing on her face, "The world can't be right when Lily is."

She took out a handkerchief to wipe up her rebellious tears that just wouldn't settle down, when the wind blew it away. She tried to reach out for it but it was too late. Not bothering with it, she let it go and didn't see it land at the feet of some guy, so when his masculine voice spoke up, it startled her.

"I think you dropped something."

Misty looked up and was immediately taken aback; good looking facial features were staring down at her. Was it the sun setting playing with her head? She was never one to fall for a pretty face. This probably had something to do with her blurry vision. Troubled, she shook her head to drive all these dizzy thoughts away.

"No? But I am pretty sure I saw you drop this, Waterflower." The young man dazzled her with a grin. It was then that she regained all of her senses and recognized the voice and the guy it went with.

_'What was I thinking, it's just Gary Oak,'_ she thought to herself.

She ignored the handkerchief he was trying to hand to her and wiped the tears still visible on her face; they didn't need a new witness. Unfortunately for her, the action wasn't unnoticed by him. Without an invitation, he sat down next to her. Misty was then invaded by a musky scent, probably from some expensive cologne of his, she rationalized.

"So what did he do this time?" He asked her, explaining when she simply looked at him, confused; "You're Misty Waterflower. You used to follow Ashy-boy around and everyone in a 50 meters radius now knows how you really feel about him. Oh, but don't worry, Ashy-Boy has always been known for being an idiot. It makes people feel better about themselves." He smirked when he saw her mortified look change to an eye roll at his last comment.

"Well you're also known for being somewhat of a notorious serial heart-breaker. Making girls cry isn't really noteworthy."

"It is, when girls our age are only looking for guys who don't even give a crap about them," he was hinting at her. She could tell that he had found her pathetic attempt to defend the guy who obviously didn't care that much about her amusing. Once again he handed her the piece of tissue; a confusing gesture since the intruder had just made fun of her; "He's obviously after my title so I guess I could also try to play the part of the idiot who makes you feel better."

"I'm still in shock you remember my name to be honest." He had a way with words, she had to admit. She smiled and accepted the tissue. this time, now that she had an explanation for his strange behavior. "So espionage brought you here huh?" She had no real intention of discussing what happened with him of all people.

He chuckled at her words, teasing, "I spy with my little eye a sad little red-head."

"I spy with my little eye a nosy little jerk." She shot back at him, getting frustrated. If she didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't talk about it, it was as simple as that. Couldn't he just get the hint? Once again, he just laughed. Everything was just good humor to him apparently, which really didn't help her mood.

"How about I share a secret with you?" Look up confidence in the dictionary, it's bound to have a picture of Gary Oak next to it.

"I don't plan on sharing mine with you," Misty grumbled, but she couldn't hide her curiosity when he mentioned the word secret.

"Gary Oak is going to take first place in the upcoming Safari Quest," he told her anyway, his smirk growing wider when he noticed her incredulous look.

_'Okay, he refers to himself in third person, what's wrong with this guy?'_ She asked herself in bewilderment before informing him, "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, that's no secret!"

"That's what I thought at first, but people are still entering the Safari Quest. My guess is that they might not know." Phony concern was displayed on his face, "In fact, isn't that what you're doing?"

"I-I don't have any business here anymore," she replied, still not comfortable with the subject. For a few moments, no one uttered a word, Gary apparently deep in thoughts.

"I guess I don't have a choice, I'll make you my partner."

* * *

"Me?"

Misty seemed genuinely shocked and not able to work out how their conversation had ended up to that conclusion. Gary had noticed her sudden perk of interest at the word 'secret'; after all girls were so predictable. He had carefully planned his way to the statement that was now troubling her. He was midly amused once more at her expenses.

"Stop joking, there are a lot of girls out there who would die just for you to make them your partner. I, on the other hand, am not one of them. Thanks for your concern though."

"It's funny, I don't really believe you're actually thankful."

She rolled her eyes at what appeared to be a sincere remark from him as if her sarcasm was lost on him. '_Please,' _he snorted innerly. Sarcasm was nothing new to him. If nothing, it was one of his infamous trademarks; as a young lad growing up, he had taken pleasure in learning every possible ways to bestow mockery and contempt upon his fellow trainers. Ash Ketchum had been a recurring victim, in fact. He'd love to remind his interlocutor of that.

"Which leads me to also think you're not honest with yourself," he continued, nonetheless. "The way you looked at me earlier, I'm sure you'd love me as your handsome partner. I would sure appreciate for you to keep our little secret in exchange."

He winked after the way he put emphasis on 'our' to which Misty burst out laughing as if she was being tortured by a mischievous Aipom performing Tickle on her. Gary was taken aback. It went without saying that he had an excellent sense of humor and a girl laughing out loud wasn't a rare sight to him. He just hadn't planned this odd outcome. Then again, he had concluded that no girl in her right mind could have followed Ashy-boy that long without killing him or herself in the process. This one had probably gone nuts from all his childhood acquaintance's madness. She even seemed to harbor feelings for the doofus. The poor girl.

"As if you'd rather go home alone than entering with me?" He joked with a smile that implied silliness and nonsense.

"Definitely."

_'It's always a shame to see a cute girl fall victim to insanity,' _he deplored innerly.

Gary decided to switch his tactics; he was realizing that his charm was wasted on her thus his change of strategy. He thought that flattery would get him better results, "You know, I visited your gym about a week ago. I thought you'd make a good partner so-" He didn't even get a chance to finish.

"So that's how you remembered my name, you needed me!" She smiled, triumphant. To her satisfaction, she was getting the upper-hand in this exchange.

Gary, _again_, was taken aback; this wasn't a frequent occurence in his life.

_'Who is she to say things like that? She's the one in need right now!'_ His thoughts were bitter.

"Well I don't _need _you, I just-" He tried again without much success; she only laughed again, but louder. She was making a habit of interrupting him and laughing at inappropriate moments which was kind of getting on his nerves. Maybe it had been a bad decision to talk to her when he had seen her alone and out of place in this peaceful park. He was getting up when he felt a tug on his pants.

"Wait," Misty told him, "You suck at asking, you know that right?"

She was adding insult to injury which made him strongly despise her for a moment. If he was looking down on her now, it didn't have much to do with the fact that he was up and her, still on the ground; he didn't want anything to do with her.

"I'll be your partner," she quickly added as if she read his thoughts and chose to once again annoy him in the most effective way possible. She was crying moments ago and now was challenging him? _The _Great Gary Oak?

"Guess we'll have a lot of fun together, partner." Whatever, she wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

"I hope, for your sake. Better start working on that idiot-who-makes-people-feel-better act." Misty smirked back, forgetting the tears she had shed. He would have to teach her not to underestimate him.

* * *

**End of chapter**

_Ok guys I know I took time to update so I apologize loll school's killing me, so here was chapter 2 hope you liked it! Tell me if you see any mistakes yall loll. Hey, I just got a new idea for a fic… I know what you're thinking I already got 2 of 'em and I'm not the fastest updater let's just say but I don't know I have to write it and anyways love triangles is almost finished so it's not that bad…Oh yeah Sorry pokeshipper the pokeshippy will be out in about a month…SORRY! Anyways I decided to be an ANYshipper except for yuri pair (I don't like them :S) and I got a preference for egoshipping too…_

_Here are the answers to the review:_

_Rosewaters: Thank you for reviewing! I see you in a lot of my fanfic so I'm really grateful! Thank so much for your support. I hope I didn't too much disappoint you I know you must have waited for a long time, maybe believing it was going to be awesome, but it's just…that. Well no Brock for Misty (that wouldn't be so nice the 2 of them, 2 weeks together (no offense if you're a gymshipper) they're too much like siblings… anyways C ya! Hope to see you in this chap!_

_Red: Here's my update thank you for reviewing I really appreciate! Have a just great day loll (don't have anything else to say but thanks loll) discovered that! COol aint it?_

_Maia's Pen: Hey! Thank you so much for reviewing! I finally update the same week you said you would! (I was waiting for you to update first…joke! loll) anyways the action hasn't quite start yet and now I'm trying to not disappoint my reviewer (it's so much stress, I wonder how you deal with that! Especially with 1024? Reviews!) neways hope you liked this chapter…C ya!_

_SoullessGirl: I finally update sorry for making you wait this long…I really appreciate you reviewing ( I don't think I saw you in any of my others stories…its always a pleasure to meet new people in my "world" loll neways hope you enjoyed this chappie! C ya!_

_Midnight-Mist-87: Thank you so much for taking the time to review and for ) I don't think this story deserves liking my humor (even though it sucks hehe all those reviews and that's putting me stress like I don't want to disappoint anyone (I was quite surprised to have this lot of reviews…) anyways YOU HAVE TO UPDATE GIRL! Loll C ya!_

_Reanne1102: Wow my heart stopped beating and I was beginning to have tears in well thank my eyes hopefully for me you said it was a joke hehe Im so foolish… you for reviewing. It's not the first time I saw you as a reviewer so I'm really thankful for that neways C ya!_

_The thinker: Is that what you think! Loll I know it sucks…hehe cant help myself neways thanks you SO much for reviewing even though you're not on people don't know how great it feels to have a kind comment as yours! I'm so glad you like my others stories too! (did you read them ALL? Man you're so kind!) Anyways I hope you'll have a great day! (if you're reading this line I'm thanking you AGAIN!) hugs C ya!_

_Mullenium Master: Thanks for reviewing! I was checking my emails when I saw a review alert! I was so glad when I saw your name! YEAH! you helped me a lot in my debuts (in Love triangles) check it out I changed a few things with your help! ( u don't have to though loll) neways im glad if you like the story , the idea's more popular that I thought it'll be…is that a good or bad thing I think it's both well C ya! Thanks again_

_Kirin Rakash: Hey you like story? I like YOU! Loll well Im not really joking but I don't like you because you like the story but because you're kind enough to review! Thank you SO much! Well hope this chapter doesn't disappoint you too much C YA!_

_Summery girl-Need a summery-just ask: Thank you for reviewing, I'll try to improve in the next chapter…the thought of May and Gary together? I don't know I'll think about it for awhile it's not that bad you're right…Hey are you making summery? I'm writing a new story and I need one! (as you may have seen I suck at them!) You may even summarize all my stories (if you have time to lose of course) neways I'd like if you could do that and I'd make you a special thanks in all my fics! Contact me if you're willing C ya!_

_Star High Above: I'm glad you never read something like this before (that was the point loll) Well here's the update, I hope you appreciate this chapter as thanks so much for much that I appreciate your review (n it's a lot!) reviewing and I hope I can still surprise you in the following chapter have a great day C ya!_

_Well that's it! Almost a whole page of answers (I wonder how Maia's Pen doing with hers…)neways THANKS EVERYONE including ones who aren't reviewing I'll try to update faster _

_C YALL!_

_~michelicious_


	3. Let the Fun Begin

_**Present Self:** **Thank you for all the reviews and feedbacks. Some asked me again about it, yes this story used to have 10 chapters out already. I am rewriting them. I have drafts until chapter 10 so releases should be faster. It's a cliché to say this but reviews are always a push. :) Enjoy.**_

_Here is Chapter 3 guys! I wrote like 6 chapters of others stories before making this one so I have an excuse! Plus it was with my Christmas surprise! Yeah Happy Christmas y'all! This chapter is all about Misty and Gary first night together. Loll anyways no more wasting time Enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter Two – Let the Fun Begin**

* * *

"So you really think that throwing all of your money away for a cheaper room makes you a better person," Gary concluded.

Gary Oak _wasn't _an idiot. But that simple statement was constantly challenged again and again by Misty to the point he, himself, was starting to doubt its validity. After all, he'd have to be one to willingly put up with the phenomena; she was so frustrating! There was nothing left of that hurt fragile being he had first seen less than an hour ago. For the past ten minutes they had been in this stupid debate of who was the better person, picking on each others' known weaknesses without mercy. Prior to this, the subject at hand had been a simple proposition; how could he have known the question would have turned into a battle for power? All he'd done was simply offered his room.

"As if I'd throw away all of my dignity for a better room. And do _you _seriously think throwing all of your money away for a stranger makes you a better person? You are pathetic. You _cannot _buy everything with money, _Oak_." Misty snorted at him.

Gary sighed; he had quickly come to understand than in Misty's mind, without the title of professor, the name Oak was no better than junk. He was determined to make her understand the simple fact that he, Gary Oak, wasn't an idiot. She couldn't just play him around the way she probably did Ashy-boy.

"_Waterflower_," he spat as much disdain as he could muster into the name, "I swear logic dies on your lips. Care to explain how in the world I would be throwing all my money away when suggesting for you to_ share_ my room?"

This was beyond stupid. They had argued and fought for the past fifteen minutes easy; ever since they had taken their seats at their table. On their way to the hotel, Gary had offered to take her to dinner at a restaurant he had enjoyed during his last stay in the city. It would be canned food and wild fruits for the next week, and they had something to celebrate, so a nice dinner in a fancy restaurant didn't seem like a bad idea. He had had no idea that he might have been wrong to label whatever arrangement they had, a celebration.

Conversation had been dull until they both had placed their drinks order; that was the beginning of whatever landed him in this predicament. His new teammate had ordered water which had annoyed him a bit since it obviously meant that she thought he wouldn't offer to pay, even though it had been his idea to come here. Or that she didn't want to owe him anything and was determined to spend as little as possible.

_'Or again, that she rep her Cerulean gym leader status way too seriously,'_ he thought. He gave himself a mental pat on the back for his good humor. Gary only needed Gary to amuse himself.

Her order had also been the cheapest one on the menu, so it couldn't just be a coincidence. If he had known that defending his good upbringing would cost him this much trouble instead of just a check, he would have gladly accepted to be the inconsiderate brat she took him for. To the amusement of bored and nosy customers waiting for their own meals, ever since he had popped the question (ironically, it hadn't even been remotely romantic), they had been stuck in this endless banter.

* * *

Misty could see that he was getting more and more annoyed by the second, in fact she enjoyed it. She had realized that his proposal wasn't a bad idea and that it'd cost him nothing to have her share his room. She would even be saving a fair amount of money and it would make it easier to discuss anything contest-related; it was a win-win situation really. However, Misty's pride took over whenever Gary spoke. Not only did she already harbor hostile feelings towards him, as Ash's rival, but he had also seen her at a most vulnerable moment not so long ago. That didn't sit right with her. She was determined to make him forget about the recent event. At the very least, if he couldn't forget about it, she'd make him shed his own share of tears; frustration could get salty.

"Club sandwich and fries?"

The waitress had come back with her order, saving her from answering his latest comment. Who said arguments had to make sense? Either way, she was just glad it was over for the time being. So glad in fact that she would have praised the waitress' efficiency if it wasn't for the looks the girl was giving Gary. She was looking at him as if he was some piece of meat and she hadn't eaten anything for days. She was so mesmerized, she couldn't even spare a glance at Misty; no way that girl was a vegetarian.

"Sir, your order will be ready in a sex, I mean sec."

Or a virgin.

The waitress giggled insanely at her own silly mistake, and Gary returned the charming waitress' giggles with what Misty decided was a cocky smile. "I'll be back before you know it," she told him, caressing his arm with her perfectly manicured fingers and she left but not before dropping Misty's order in front of her like homework on a Saturday night, leaving Misty rather displeased. Sarcasm drenched her thoughts.

_'Of course, to her eyes I'm just a customer, nothing important or even related to her job.'_

"What is it?" Gary shot her a suspicious look. "You have that face."

"I'm sorry, are we friends?"

"No, of course not, we can barely manage friendly."

Right about now, she could picture him thinking to himself how he'd never try to be nice to her again. That ought to show him. She had find the whole eating out proposition a great idea until he had led her to this expensive restaurant. She wasn't one of those mindless bimbos that would just follow him around in exchange of some fancy dinner or jewelry. She gave him a satisfied look to which he only exhale audibly in a long deep breath. So far, payback was sweet.

"You don't like me. I get it. You won't find me under a tree crying about it though," he mocked. He must have felt mildly triumphant when her face jolted at the reminder of her too recent state of vulnerability. "Anyway, no big loss there. Plenty of people like me."

As if on cue, the waitress returned with steak and a side of more suggesting looks.

"Yeah, starting with that air-head waitress," she added when said waitress became out of hearing range.

"Wait, are you jealous?"

All of the sudden, the direction of this conversation appeared extremely appealing to Gary as he changed his bored expression to an intrigued one. He focused all of his attention on Misty, analyzing her any facial giveaway. She rewarded is impertinence with an expression that couldn't be mistaken for anything but annoyance. With a satisfied face, he resumed stabbing his fork into his steak. Then something seemed to have caught his eye as Misty wondered why he had paused eating again.

"You know, Stacy might just take me up on that offer for tonight."

He flashed Misty a napkin that had the waitress' name and number on it, feeling like a million bucks. For some reason, Misty really didn't want to see the waitress any more minutes that she had to. Images of Gary's smirk and of the waitress together spun in her head; of her glued to him until the beginning of the competition. She suddenly got up, having had enough.

"I'll take your room, you take my bill."

She left quickly as to not give a chance to Gary to protest. Unbeknownst to her, he had no such intention. She missed the smirk, that she had imagined would be a scowl, and the generous tip he left the waitress.

* * *

The walk to the hotel gave Misty the possibility to clear her mind up a bit now that she was free of Gary's presence; she couldn't think straight whenever she was with him. No, she wouldn't allow him such an effect on her! This whole mess had to have something to do with how much of an emotional wreck she was after her fight with Ash. Once again, she got lost on the familiar territory that was her thoughts. Yeah, her being a wreck, that had to be it. It was the sole logical explanation to the decision she had just come to make a while back.

Upon entering the hotel, Misty went straight to the administration desk to cancel her stay and move to Gary's room. Unfortunately, without him present, it was a bit more complicated than expected. She tried to explain to the personnel that she had met up with her partner and would now be sharing his room, and everything was fine. Then she revealed her partner's name. Who knew a bunch of crazies had tried to pretend to be Gary Oak's teammate? Even more surprising, who knew anyone could mistake her for one of them? She tried to reason with the clerk, explain to him it was a last minute thing and prove her sanity with eloquent arguments, but in the end, she only came away with Gary's room number even after a little persuasion. Of course, persuasion in Misty's book meant profuse insults towards the unreceptive clerk, resulting in both she and the clerk wanting away from one another, so she was probably lucky to even get the number.

She quickly went to her room, gathered her stuff and returned her key to the guy. They avoided eye-contact the way one would avoid contact with a kid with poor hygiene. She then went to sit next to Gary's door after taking the elevator to his floor, waiting for him to arrive.

"_Finally_!" Misty exclaimed when he eventually did show. Her butt was a bit sore as she got up. She was still irritated after her dispute with the clerk and she had waiting for Gary to arrive for more than half a hour; "Could you have been any slower?" She complained.

Gary sighed; "I missed you too," he replied sarcastically before taking out the key from his pocket and opening the door. He let her enter first, figuring she probably would have tackled him aside anyway.

Misty was amazed at the sight before her; she wasn't even sure she was in the same building. Everything was sparkling and the room seemed to have been furnished with the finer things in life. In fact, it didn't even seem like a hotel room, more like a small apartment instead, and the kind that was definitely for the wealthy at that. She dropped her bags in the living room and set out to explore more of the place. A quick glance at Gary's face showed her, he wasn't impressed with it the way she was, but before he could start to look down on her, she quickly left his sight.

* * *

Gary was actually slightly amused by her reaction; it was nice to see she could have a regular person's reaction sometimes, it made it easier to understand her. Not that he was trying to or anything. When she returned, a stern look replacing her previous excited one, he knew trouble was brewing. This time, he decided not to comment on her change of facial expression figuring the answer to his question was sure to come soon anyway.

"_Oak_, there's only one bed."

_'There you go,'_ he mentally congratulated himself for his choice of action. "So?"

"I am _not _sleeping with you," Misty stated, her voice far calmer than her face would lead one to believe.

"Can't we act like adults here? The bed is big enough for us both to use without even touching each other," Gary reasoned, before adding, "Besides, I'm interested in your trainer skills, not your body. Hit puberty before making such assumptions."

"You are a creep. I am not dealing with you in any other state than conscious."

Could this girl live a minute in his presence without insulting him? "Do you have any better idea?" Oh, he should have known that he would regret these words.

"Actually, I have _three_; the couch, the ground, or if you have her number, I'm sure you can figure out Stacy's address," Misty informed him with a smile, enjoying his speechlessness; victory was definitely hers on this one. "I'm going to take a shower and a nap. Try not to peak. Or I'll greet you with a fist."

"Don't worry, I don't think it's worth it."

"What did you say?"

"Don't worry and have a good sleep," he corrected himself, grining forcefully. Ever since she had mentioned physical abuse, he was in no hurry to discover if she was actually insane enough to follow through with it. The outcome of a physical fight with a girl could never be a good one.

"Thanks."

Misty then headed to where she left her bags to retrieve her personal toiletries. Not able to withstand a single moment more in her presence, Gary chose the door. He was getting out the napkin with Stacy's number on it along with his cellphone when, as he opened the door, his thoughts of pleasant feminine company were interrupted by him bumping into someone on his way out.

Soon, arms were all over him in what he concluded to be an attempt to help him up, and a hand was forcing his dropped cellphone on him. He waved whoever it was away and got up all by himself, refusing help. He dusted the dirt off his clothes and glanced up to see two guys in front of him. They were both wearing the hotel uniform and looking at him a bit funny.

"Mister Oak! Are you alright, sir? So sorry about that," The taller of the two exclaimed.

"Yes, really sorry to have bumped into you like that. By the way, you're a great trainer, a fashion icon and a real lady-killer; we wouldn't dare to get on your bad side, sir, you are like our idol."

_'I...have male fan club? I don't mind when it's trainers but... Better not to dwell on it,'_ He thought. The timing wasn't the best either as he was already frustrated enough by Misty that his mood wasn't suited for such a strange situation. What were they doing in front of the door? Had the red-head monster in his room called for room service? "I'm fine, thank you." He wasn't but he also wasn't going to let Misty and her antics get in the way of his good social etiquette, "Is everything alright?"

"That was our question, sir. It's our job to make sure you are comfortably set after all."

"Yes, sir. Is there anything we can do to make your day better?"

"I'm afraid there is no way to help me out unless you're an attractive lady or a serial killer." Suddenly, an idea popped into his head, curving a smile on his face; "Actually gentlemen, maybe you could help me with something."

"Anything, sir!" The two said in unison. He had to admit it was a bit endearing to see how these two were so eager to help satisfy his every whim and desire.

"Well you see, the bathroom door is locked. In fact, I was on my way to look for someone to unlock it. You don't happen to have the keys?"

"Of course, we do! We'll unlock your door right away, sir."

"Consider it done, sir."

Gary thanked them with a grateful smile and went on his way down to the hall, a grin on his face.

'_Wonder what that prude Misty will do with two pair of eyes on her body. Serves her right,'_ he thought, exiting the building in a far much better mood.

* * *

Gary came back to the hotel later, having fled from his date; it appeared he was starting to have more and more trouble with dating. Stacy was a nice girl and all, and, most importantly, she appeared to enjoy his favorite topic of conversation; himself. For some reason though, he was just getting tired of the whole monologue thing. When it was her turn to speak, or if he tried changing the subject to another one of his passions, all she could entertain him with was giggles; it gave him a migraine just reminiscing about it. He had met countless women, and he had high physical standards when dating, but he was getting tired of bimbos and clueless girls, no matter how beautiful. The one consolation prize had been that she had been one avid and good kisser, but he wasn't willing to trade swollen lips for a giggle-free night after the evening he had had.

He could feel his headache worsen as he got closer to his door. He wasn't sure the lion's den was a better alternative, but Misty was probably asleep so it couldn't hurt. As he turned the door knob to enter the room, he spotted her in the living room, not asleep, but watching late night T.V. commercials, laying on a pillow and a blanket covering her. He tried for a moment to come up with an explanation as to why she wouldn't be sleeping before a smile crept up to his face, an interesting theory in mind; maybe his mood was about to improve.

"I thought you said you were going to sleep when I left. That was the nicest thing you said all day, you know?" He commented, heading to the bathroom and looking for the courtesy toothbrush, with which he started to brush his teeth.

"Some perverts invaded the bathroom while I was showering. How can I sleep when they're still on the loose?" For a moment she had forgotten the identity of her sole audience and engaged into civil conversation with him, surprising both of them. "I guess I'm still a little shocked."

Gary suppressed a laugh, and tried to stay as serious as he could; "Yeah, I understand, the world ain't safe nowadays, especially for pretty women." He spat out the minted content of his mouth into the sink. "They must have gone to the wrong room," He added matter-of-factually, shedding the clothes that were threatening to suffocate him any minute now.

"I hate to say it but you're right," She was even more surprised that she was agreeing with him and paid not too much attention to his actual words."I had this horrible fight with the clerk again," She continued, beginning to rant, "Clearly he doesn't care about customer satisfaction unless said customer is female and _half-naked_! I guess I should be sorry because I interrupted him while he was busy flirting with trainers!

"They seriously need to check their security but, no, he still thinks that I'm Gary Oak's make-believe partner!" She stopped talking and turned to him when she heard him approaching. He wasn't wearing the clothes she remembered him wearing earlier, in fact he only had a plain t-shirt and boxers on as he sat down next to her. She decided not to be impressed and looked at him straight in the eye, not wanting to get distracted by how well that t-shirt molded his upper body muscles. "Did you know some girls pretend to be your teammate? I don't see why they would really." For a moment her eyes wandered on dangerous territory when he gave her an amused look, so she decided to concentrate on the T.V. screen instead. Finally, Gary's earlier words registered in her head; "Hey, what did you mean by wrong room?"

"You know what I meant. There's no pretty woman here," He flashed her his cockiest smile.

She rolled her eyes at him for the umpteenth time that day, and then forcefully threw towards him the pillow she was using; Gary easily caught it. He ignored the deadly glare she used as a follow-up attack, watching her as she seemed to be contemplating on whether or not to attack him again. He deducted that she had decided against it due to her lack of further actions.

"What are you doing?" She asked him when he started making himself comfortable on the couch. It was funny to him how she felt uncomfortable the more he seemed to stretch nearer to her body.

"I should be the one asking since you're sitting where I'm sleeping," He replied, looking at her as though she was crazy for asking, "Or did you change your mind about sharing a bed?"

Misty just snatched back the pillow, frustrated. While getting up and heading towards the bed, she threw it at him again with more strength if possible.

Gary also chuckled again; "Thanks for the pillow! Good night, sweetheart!" He called after her.

When no reply or sound was heard, he wondered for a small moment whether she had heard him or not. He positioned himself to sleep as comfortably as he could on the couch when the smile he had on widened into a smirk. Of course, she had; Misty was oddly not making a single amount of noise.

"This arrangement might be more fun than I first thought."

* * *

Meanwhile,

"Wow, that red-head hit hard! She didn't have to hit us or scream as hard as she did, I mean, how were we supposed to know she was in there?" George complained, patting the bumps on his head, "It hurts and I'm also bleeding because I knocked myself on the door while trying to escape her wrath." He looked at Jason, who seemed a little spaced out, "Hey, you're bleeding too. Did you knock yourself too?"

"The first naked woman I've seen," He explained, his nose was now bleeding harder.

"Jason! Congratulations, man!" Exclaimed George. "But I didn't know you've never seen a naked woman before," He pondered, "I mean, what's the internet for then?"

* * *

**End of chapter.**

_Loll, how's this chapter? I know I'm not talking about May and Ash…I will later I know this chapter was a little stupid loll it was just meant to introduce you to Misty and Gary's future interactions. This time there are more arguments than in my others stories. Spices things a little don't ya think? Loll well C ya! And again…HAppY ChRitmAS! Still waiting for my gifts :P_

_~michelicious_


	4. A Little Lie

**_Present me: Thanks to everyone reading this, first time using the traffic stats before reviews were one's only indicator. Here is the rewrite of chapter 3. Enjoy. If everything goes well, the next one should be up this weekend. _**

_Here is Chapter 4, I tried to update ASAP guys, but it's not always easy I was working on another fic…well let's just say that I had the update for all my others fic and even a new oneshot done except for this fic…well here it is…Oh yeah I'm also celebrating because this is the 30th chapter I'm writing. I mean the 30th of all fics I've written reunited Yeah! cheers anyways here was Michelicious starting the new year with a fresh update! ENJOY!_

* * *

**Chapter 3 –**** A Little Lie**

* * *

The first thing that came to mind when Gary woke up the next morning, was how uncomfortable he was. And that something warm was against his back. Still sleepy, he wondered to himself if he had brought company back home. He, then, realized how close to the ground he was. But no matter how sleepy and not rested he was, he still tried to push his way further into the bed; whoever it was that was hogging all the space was going to regret it. He tried to conquer more bed territory at their expense. He started to panic a bit when he had to admit how strong the person's back was. It was a girl, right? He couldn't be sharing his bed with anything..._not_ female.

"Honey, could you give me some space?" he asked, trying to fall back asleep and hoping that discovering the identity of the person wasn't going to end in some kind of living nightmare.

"You know, you really are crazy," a voice came from behind him, causing him to smile eyes closed. Whoever was strong enough to exile him to this small part of the bed was definitely a female. Wait, that voice was familiar. Where had he heard it again?

"Last night was crazy," he replied.

At this point he was on auto-pilot, not really caring if that was what his catch of the night had meant. Somehow, they always liked this kind of answer and, usually, it got him some kind of positive response. It was morning, after all, some action might drive his drowsiness away; "How about a kiss?" If he had slept with this girl she couldn't be too bad-looking, he reasoned, trying to erase any doubts about her attractiveness. He turned around to meet the eyes of whoever was going to be his morning princess charming.

"Already missing Stacy?"

A pair of emerald eyes greeted him, not on his right but right above him, a smile he had grown to dislike there too. Her arms rested on the back of the sofa as Misty observed his pitiful self. The couch had offered him little to no sleep.

"Waterflower," he muttered, "How did you sleep?" It turned out that the pressure he felt was from the seatback and not someone else's.

"Like a baby," she beamed without any trace of guilt in her eyes even though it was clear he hadn't been as lucky. "Here's a counter offer for your kiss: How about breakfast? There were eggs in the fridge."

She left his sight, her footsteps heading towards the direction of the kitchen. She didn't wait for him to reply, instead returning with a plate of omelet and a glass of orange juice which she handed to him.

"Thanks."

Okay, something was up, this wasn't the Misty he had met yesterday. Did she put something in the food? Or maybe the drink?

Misty laughed at his lack of movement; "Don't worry, it's not poisoned," she showed off her mind-reading skills, managing to make the whole thing a lot more suspicious than it already was. Seeing him more hesitant, she rolled her eyes. "Oak, spare us both the trouble of me shoving that food down your throat," she threatened.

"I feel better when you're your monster-self" He eerily smirked at her before he obliged, genuinely surprised, "Hey, not bad! I guess I should add good cook to your resume. Makes up for the infuriating brat issue." Already half-way through his breakfast and just the slightest bit impressed she hadn't responded to his comment, he added: "Today's the last day to sign up before the qualification rounds."

"About that..." Misty moved from her spot and avoided his eye-contact. "I think you might need a new partner."

"Oh." He rested his now empty plate and glass on the living room table. "So this was what breakfast was all about. You're breaking up with me."

"Breaking up with you?" She looked at him as if he was insane.

"I always break up over a nice meal, the news is always a bit less unsettling when your stomach is full," he explained, "Now you probably were about to start some lame explanation, saying something along the lines of it's not you, it's me. Except that really, it's Ashy-boy. Am I right?"

"How did you know?" The words had escaped Misty's mouth before she could stop them. "Look, it's nothing against you, well, maybe a bit. I mean if you hadn't been such a jerk to Ash growing up, the situation would have been a lot less complicated. I'm just not really in the mood to enter any competition anymore." She came near and sat down beside him, looking him in the eyes in the hope that he would better understand.

"Before you go ahead offering me your friendship on a silver plate, tell me what you expect of me?" His face was suddenly a void of emotions. "How can I ease your conscience, Waterflower?" he added, when he noticed her confused look.

"My conscience?"

"You obviously feel bad about ditching me at the last minute. So I'm stuck having to make you feel better again the one way I don't know how; by caring."

"I didn't expect you to understand but, wow... Guilt-tripping me into staying. That's low, even for you."

"And this is you making me out to be the bad guy in this story," Gary protested.

"Then stop acting like an insensitive jerk," he was dangerously angering Misty, "Yesterday, I was vulnerable and you took advantage of that."

"Says the girl who got dinner and a place to stay for the night, free of charge."

He had been prepared for the slap that came not too shortly after. With a glare that showed no remorse, he got up and left the room.

* * *

Gary hadn't left the hotel as he had first intended to, in fact he hadn't even left his floor. His thoughts were a mess. He didn't understand why he was so furious with Misty; he had seen it coming from miles away. The whole asking Ashy-boy's friend plan had been full of flaws, he knew that and hadn't expected too much from it, but somehow her rejection hurt his pride. He had put up with the girl for hours, he had paid for dinner, gotten chased out of his room, he even slept on the couch dammit! All that for nothing. He could picture Misty having a blast with Ash, making a fool out of him. In a bad mood, he briefly thought about working out or maybe training his Pokemon to get his mind off things, but in the end he decided against it.

He had spent the past few days visiting the training facilities in hope of recruiting a competent partner. He knew he could easily ask any free girl to be his partner, but he wanted a good trainer, someone experienced with outdoor life, with a mind of her own, and he hadn't met anyone with all three traits. At least, not until Misty had turned up to be a potential candidate in his mind. Hell, in a desperate attempt, he had even come close to visiting her at her gym. Well, technically he had gone to her gym, he just didn't bother entering the place when he heard about her turning down offers. In the end, the whole idea was a bad one. He should have known better.

He sighed; so what if he had tried to guilt-trip her into staying? Nice guys finish last and he had his eyes set on first place. Besides, the only time she had been nice to him was when she was about to back stab him; he might not be all that nice himself, but he definitely wasn't the worse of the two.

"Mister Oak! How are you today, sir?" It was one of the guys from the day before.

"Good," he lied. There was no way he would engage in a conversation about his bad mood with a stranger, in fact, he wasn't in the mood for any conversation at all. Unfortunately, this guy didn't quite get the hint.

"That's great, sir. I was on my way to make sure you had breakfast and were having a wonderful time. Our boss appointed Jason and I especially to you during your stay. As an Oak, you cannot be treated like a common guest," he added proudly.

Even though Gary's lack of interest was reflected in his monosyllable answer, an unconcerned 'oh', he continued his rambling. "You know, Jason and I, by the way my name is George, started awhile back this club called G.O.O.N."

"G.O.O.N?" Gary wasn't really paying attention to the conversation he had found himself into, social instincts were just kicking in.

"Yes, sir. The 'Gary Oak Organization of Nerds'. It's a pretty elitist club, believe it or not, only a handful can try and become like the Great Gary Oak."

If his first 'oh' was one of disinterest, this one was an incredulous one. Gary cursed his recent luck; nothing but frustrating and awkward moments as of late.

"Also, sir, was there a time you would prefer to go register for the Safari Quest? Since it's the last day, there are probably going to be lots of last minute teams, thus a long queue. When we realized you and your teammate weren't registered this morning, Jason suggested to wait in line in your stead."

"That's...nice. Thank you. I really don't know what to say."

George smiled at him, visibly happy he could be of some help. "No problem sir. You should head back and relax for the time being, since in two days, you won't get to for a whole week."

"Yeah, I should head back to my room."

Gary knew however than relaxing would have to wait; he was more determined more than ever to win back Misty as a partner. He knew he couldn't really win her over, she apparently was immune to his charms and hated his guts, but perhaps he could trick her into it. His mind started to formulate a plot.

* * *

When he got back to his room, his heart raced when he realized that Misty's bags weren't in the living room anymore. Had she left already? Was he too late? He was about to head back out and look for her when she appeared in front of him. While she clearly wasn't pleased to see him, on his end it was quite the contrary.

"Hey." Her glance was still hostile even though he was trying to be as friendly as possible. "Hmm, look. I know I said some things, I wasn't thinking straight. You know with the lack of sleep, the stress and I had this migraine yesterday." So far, he was being honest with her. "What I'm trying to say is that..." Even though he didn't really mean it, he was finding it harder than he thought to apologize.

"I'm sorry."

"Yes! I mean, yes that's what I was trying to say."

"No, I meant that I'm sorry about my own behavior." She had to beat him to it, didn't she? He wondered to himself if she would have apologized if he hadn't first tried to do so. Oh well, he still got out of actually doing it. "I know I said I'd be your partner and I wasn't true to my word. I guess you had a reason to get upset, especially on such short notice."

"You're not just apologizing because I was about to?"

She laughed at his words as intended. "No. It's just that I realized I hadn't even tried to. Sorry should have been on the menu this morning, not eggs."

"I didn't mind the eggs." He was both relieved and shocked that conversation with Misty could be casual. "All is forgotten."

"So you aren't going to insist I should be your partner anymore? Or even make me work for your forgiveness?" She apparently had a hard time believing it.

"You know, today's the last day to register. I give up wasting any more time on your case."

"You're sure you're done guilt-tripping me? Doesn't seem like it." He could tell she was uncomfortable with the fact she had undermined his time; she was even offering a shy smile. Things were going smoothly; he had her where he wanted. "Maybe, I could help you look for someone? There's bound to be girls looking for capable guys." In fact, things were better than smooth as Misty appeared to act under the influence of her conscience even when it came to him.

"You better help me look, I wouldn't expect anything less." He knew that if he was too nice, she wouldn't buy it. He summoned insolence with a smirk, "Let me just make a quick stop to the bathroom, I haven't been feeling too well since this morning, since I saw your face actually."

"Good lord, I already miss your manipulative self. Isn't there any way you can be nice without trying to get something out of someone?" He left after these words for said destination while Misty rolled her eyes at his recovered insensitivity. "Please, Oak, you look just fine. Let's just hurry down to look for a delusional girl who'll mistake you for a good choice of partner."

"Nothing delusional about that. And, obviously, you weren't the one who just spent the worst night of his life on an uncomfortable couch with barely anything to cover him."

"Are you serious? That couch is more comfortable than my bed back in Cerulean! Also, I left a blanket and pillow before heading to bed." She ignored his raised eyebrow at the word 'left'.

"Some of us have standards when it comes to sleep," He replied and promptly closed the door to the bathroom when a loud laughter escaped her lips; he wasn't about to stay and let her make fun of him. He was guaranteed the last laugh anyway.

"You are such a softie," she managed to say after painfully getting her laughter under control.

* * *

Scared of another sudden laugh attack at Gary's expense, Misty had decided to allow him a bit of dignity and had gone to sit on the comfy couch he had insulted not so long ago to wait. After having heard water running, she had sighed; she wanted to leave the city as soon as possible. Then again, she was in no hurry to go back to Cerulean, she would have to explain her predicament to her sisters no doubt. Again she sighed, deciding she'd rather not think of such things. She'd set her concentration on the task before her, finding Gary Oak a decent partner, instead.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Gary got out of the chamber at last, so she rose up to meet him. Strangely, he was paler than she could remember. He usually had a much darker skin complexion, but now, he could have been mistaken for a zombie. The pitiful look he had didn't help him seem any healthier. On impulse, Misty instantly reached out for his forehead.

"You have a beginning of fever." She was puzzled, not quite sure of her own diagnostic. But he didn't comment which was proof enough to her that he really couldn't be feeling that well. "I don't think it's anything serious, but you should probably take it easy, especially with the Safari Quest starting soon and everything." Her hand was still resting on his forehead, she was so lost in thoughts that she had become oblivious to her surroundings.

"Rest will have to wait," He shook her hands off him. "Anyway, you said yourself that I looked fine. Took you long enough to finally notice my charms." He showed her a conceited smirk for a moment before his facial expression suddenly changed and he let out a contained cough.

"The bed is yours, just lie down for awhile." He was spying on her reactions so she tried to hide any concern she had with petty words, "Apparently, I also missed how much of a softie you truly are."

* * *

Gary was a little disoriented when he woke up. Panic went over him as he didn't know how long he had slept and what time, or date, it was. Just that he still hadn't registered. Gary was so frustrated that he had fallen asleep so easily; he hadn't even gotten the chance to guilt Misty into being his partner, or at least come up with a plan B. He cursed under his breath before the scent of food caught his attention. He painfully remembered he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and that, judging by the noise coming from his stomach, he had probably slept through lunch.

He had wanted to get in a few words, suggesting the obvious path this situation should take. She owed it to him to, at least, be his partner now that he'd need to rest and wouldn't be able to look for one. However, her commanding voice had made it hard for him to do anything else than hop in the bed she had guided him to. The spacious and cozy furniture soon had reminded him of his lack of decent sleep, making his eyelids heavier than ever. Gary had dozed off like a Snorlax without a care.

"You're finally awake, sir," a voice greeted him, startling him slightly as he hadn't realized that he wasn't alone. He recognized George, the employee he had both greeted yesterday and this morning. "You had us worried, sir." Us? Oh, he was probably referring to that other weird G.O.O.N. fellow. "Are you feeling better?" Satisfied with the nod Gary gave him, George handed him a tray with what appeared to be a soup and bread, a glass of water sat on his nightstand too.

Not waiting for encouragement, Gary dug in. The tasty warm substance was delicious and, though he wasn't really sick, made him feel a lot better. Under George's approving eyes, he finished both the bowl and glass of water, but was too full to touch the bread. George left with the plates before returning with a brighter smile.

"What time is it?" Gary had momentarily been distracted from his situation but with the food gone, the matter couldn't be any more delayed.

"A quarter to five, sir."

After hearing the answer, Gary panicked because all Safari Quest applications were rejected after 5pm, the business centers' closing hours. Usually they'd just be accepted the next day, but today was the deadline. He had less than fifteen minutes to find a partner, get to the closest center and fill in an application.

"Don't worry, sir." His face must have given away his agitation because George's words were as reassuring as possible; "Your application has been filed and approved."

"Huh?"

"Jason took care of it while we were taking care of you."

"Oh." Gary was about to relax and another question jerked into his mind, following by many others; "Wait, who's 'we'?" He asked first. Though he had played a part, Jason hadn't been included in his medical staff apparently.

"Miss Waterflower and myself, why?" George asked, looking confused as though there was no one else it could have been. "She's your partner, after all," he continued, unknowingly answering Gary's following question.

"Yeah, of course..."

So his plan did work after all. He had contacted Stacy who had been really disappointed the night before when he had blamed a growing migraine for his need to head back to the hotel and rest. She had rushed straight over to the hotel. Borrowing concealer from her had been far easier than he had thought it would be; he simply named a few dangerous-sounding components such as titanium dioxide, used the line 'trust me, I'm a scientist', and she had believed that it was unhealthy for her fair skin and handed it over. He used the concealer to appear feverish, and a wet hot towel on his forehead for a couple of minutes made him feel it too. He had had doubts but apparently Misty had bought it.

"So, where is she now? Shying away from my germs, I take it. Getting the help... to help me instead. Can't really blame her logic though."

For once.

"Oh! Not her, sir. She's such a sweet girl," Gary's eyebrows met with confusion as to whom the conversation was actually about. "When I arrived to check up on you as usual, she looked troubled and begged me to gather a few ingredients for her. I told her she didn't have to bother with that. That I could take care of it myself, of course. But you see, she told me she was never that good at turning her back on someone in need but that a soup, however, was something she could manage. She actually confided in me, later on when I praise her on it, that it was one of the only three dishes she could cook right after we," George paused his explanation. He had the same pathetic look as his gramps whenever he was reminiscing about his trainer days. Probably realizing that he was getting side-tracked, the employee tried to sum up the day to Gary without dwelling too much on the details.

"She retrieved her bags from reception. I think the guys downstairs had forgotten about them because she didn't seem too pleased with Jack, a clerk working down at the administration. You know those guys are always busy flirting and fooling around instead of doing their jo-" He stopped in mid-sentence when it dawned on him that he was, again, probably boring Gary with his commentating. "Anyway, Miss Waterflower met up with Jason, and they explained you weren't feeling well. So with authentication that they were there on your behalf, they signed you guys up." He sighed at the memory of something Gary suspected unpleasant; "They had to disclose some of your confidential information and prove we were working for the hotel and Miss Waterflower had to...persuade the representative. Apparently, girls had previously listed you as their partner. When their files indicated you were in four different teams, the whole thing got a bit complicated."

_'Four different teams?_' And to think he had been worrying not so long ago about having none. "George," He understood all the trouble the guy had gone through for him, and wasn't the kind to be ungrateful, "Thank you, for everything."

"No problem, sir. It was my pleasure." He was about to leave Gary for other duties when he added, "I had help."

What was meant as modest words quickly turned into treacherous ones. Yes, Gary had meant to trick Misty into being his partner, however reluctantly. He just hadn't expected her to be so...nice about it. That she could even be nice at all. He had half-expected her to ditch him anyway or make his life miserable in exchange for her partnership. A cold would have been a good opportunity for that goal.

'_Like I am faking this cold, she is probably faking this new found kindness,'_ he thought to himself. He really didn't want to turn out to be the kind who was ungrateful, so he silently prayed that he could add 'convincing actress' to the mental resume he had of the redhead.

* * *

**End of chapter**

_I know there aren't very arguments in this chapter and again Ash isn't there. He will in next I think…Don't worry Gary won't die when Misty will find out about the fake flu but I can't tell for sure if he'll be alright but I guess a broken arm isn't this bad hehe loll how did you find this chap? Well anyways I gotta go, it's past 2 A.M._

_C ya! _

___~michelicious _


	5. Things Get Better?

**_Hey, here is Chapter 5, hope you enjoy it! It's a bit late. I shouldn't name date for my releases. R&R. I feel weird about this chapter, I try to leave key moments from the previous versions but the end was still a bit odd to me. *sigh* _**

* * *

**Chapter 4 –**** Things Get Better ?**

* * *

"You know, if I didn't know you any better, I'd really think that you care about me."

"Please, you don't know me at all. I wouldn't just leave a sick person to fend for themselves."

"Sure could have fooled me with your part in said sick person's predicament!"

Two hours had passed since George had left the room, and Misty had just made her appearance now. Gary was sitting on the sofa, in front of a turned off television, still with no clue to what she had been up to all this time. George had been a real blabber mouth and assaulted him with way too much information for anyone to actually process. All he'd managed was to fill in some details, such the facts that Misty had cooked, helped George take care of him, and she had signed them up for the Safari Quest along with George's friend (Jack? Jason? He had no idea), but that didn't exactly cover the entire amount of time she'd been gone.

"I brought back some cold medicine," Misty tossed him a small white package, "This is me being sorry for overestimating the body of a healthy teenage boy. If a night on the couch gets you half-killed, we might want to skip the whole camping ordeal."

"So now there's a 'we' huh? Don't worry about me, I can take one for the team, so don't even think about backing out now." He gave her a heart-warming smile when she joined him on the couch, "I-I appreciate what you're doing for me."

Misty found and took the remote to turn on the T.V. "What I'm doing _because _of you," she corrected him, muttering, "I'm not sure Ash will appreciate it so much."

It was clear that she was trying to distract herself from her thoughts, Gary just wished the distraction could have been a better show than what was on at that moment. The last time he had willingly watched cartoons, he was pretty sure he had just learned to walk. Or that he couldn't yet talk and ask anyone to change the channel; even as a child, he had always been more into documentaries. The atmosphere had turned heavy at the mention of his childhood friend. Only exaggerated sound effects coming out from the cartoons saved them from the uncomfortable silence.

"The soup, it was good."

"One of Brock's recipe."

Gary had to admit he found it cute how she didn't want to take the credit for it; she was surprisingly modest.

"Thank you, it kind of makes me miss home-made food. You know, my sister's also a great cook."

"You have a sister?"

"Yes, her name is May." He drifted in his seat uncomfortably. Although, he had understood that he could only indirectly compliment her, he hadn't meant to share. He was relieved when Misty only nodded as an answer; she was probably also getting the weird vibe. "I think Ashy-boy has a friend of the same name." For some reason, he felt like he had to get the conversation going but he realized he probably dug his own grave by mentioning her best friend again.

"Yeah. In fact, she's entering the contest with him." Yep, he definitely had dug his own grave. "I ran into them earlier just after signing us up."

Had cartoons make her go soft in the head, or had the sharing mood also gotten to her? He concentrated his attention away from the T.V., which turned out to be extremely easy, and fully on her.

"That must have been awkward."

"That's an understatement," she chuckled, reminiscing. She then proceeded to tell him the details of that unpleasant moment.

_She'd just parted ways with Jason and was trying to find the nearest elevator to go back up and check up on Gary. He still hadn't woken up despite a few hours of rest so she'd been uneasy about leaving him at all. Anyhow, she had eventually come to the conclusion that he would be much much worse if he were to find he was out of the competition before it had even begun. So she'd gone back on her decision and decided to enter with him._

_While looking for the elevator, she'd spotted trainers coming back from the high tech training facilities. Her mind quickly began forging a training program that would make use of the high technology. Although, due to Gary, she'd have to put it off until the next day. Despite being lost in thought, she had finally found an elevator when she heard her name called from afar. She turned around to see Ash accompanied by a girl; May._

_"Mist, I'm so glad to see you!" Ash exclaimed, having run up to her as if he was scared she'd flee again._

_"Ash," she greeted steadily. Sure, she was glad to see him too, but his timing confused her. She'd just registered to join a competition with his arch nemesis because he'd turned her down basically. Definitely bad timing._

_"I was scared that you really had left town, I mean we didn't even get to catch up," he smiled at her sheepishly. Damn. Sometimes the guy was just too adorable, she just couldn't stay mad at him for long. "Also, I talked to Brock and he agreed to be your partner." Then again... _

_"About that..." How would she break the news to him? She, herself, was shocked at this new development._

_"I'm afraid it's a bit too late to sign up now, Ash." May said uneasily as she caught up with them. _

_"I'm with- I'm with…an acquaintance I met," Misty explained, "We agreed to be partners and signed up just in time."_

_"This is so great! I'm really happy this whole thing got settled," Ash exclaimed, "I'll just have to inform Brock that yet another girl rejected him. No big deal, he's used to it right?" He grinned at her and both girls couldn't help but laugh, Misty also relieved he hadn't asked who._

_Of course May asked instead; "Oh, and who's your mystery partner?" She had probably noticed the former growing tension and was now happy the whole exchange was lighter. Misty cursed her friendliness._

_"I'll introduce you guys later, you'll be surprised to find out who it is," She replied offhandedly._

_"I can't wait to meet him, I'm already grateful he got you to stay." Ash's arm came into contact with Misty's back as he gently pushed her towards a direction, "Let's go join Brock, Max and Pikachu for dinner. It'll be great to eat all together, right May?" He didn't even wait for her to answer so much he was excited with whatever he was about to say next, "Brock made hamburgers, c'mon!"_

"So all this time you were fraternizing with the enemy?" Gary teased in an effort to lighten up the atmosphere.

"No, right now I am fraternizing with the enemy," She nudged him on his right arm, "Go take your medicine and leave my bed would you? I'd like to recover from the events of today."

However, this is what he heard : 'Stop fooling around and go take care of that cold. Take the bed and don't worry about me.' His new understanding of Misty translated that sentence for him into honesty, a language they both didn't speak as his gratitude was embodied by a lack of protest.

* * *

From the moment she opened her eyes, Misty knew something wasn't right. She had been awoken by a suspicious, yet vaguely familiar, smell in the air. The last time she remembered detecting that odor was back in the days, when Charizard was still giving Ash a hard time. The Pokemon had always been so _fired up_ whenever its master gave it a command.

She got up to try and identify the origin of the burnt smell. Rubbing her eyes from drowsiness, she was welcomed with the strange yet funny sight of Gary Oak in an pink apron. And one with yellow spots at that. "Morning," he greeted her, "Didn't hear you get up."

"Hey. What's this smell?" She proceeded to make her way over to a kitchen stool, attempting to ignore his attire for the moment.

"Breakfast."

"You're kidding right?"

"Nothing funny here." Gary served something way too dark and crispy to be edible in front her. Again, and with a huge amount of will power, she ignored the call to comment his ludicrous apparel.

"No offense but I think I'm going to skip breakfast."

"Let me just try again." He turned his back on her, hoping she missed his lack of confidence in that last sentence.

She laughed; "I guess the medicine helped you get better, but let's not try our luck with your cooking today. Food poisoning will have to wait until after the Safari Quest is over."

"You shouldn't make fun of me just because cooking is the one thing I don't excel at."

"Hey! I tried really hard not to make fun of you, you know? Not that you're helping with that awful apron. Pink is _really_ your color, Oak."

"Every color looks good on me," Gary retorted, "True story." Misty had to admit, though amusing, the apron wasn't so unappealing on Gary's body. "If you don't want me to cook, I'm afraid I can't really repay yesterday's kindness." He had turned back to face her, looking something close to disappointed. Misty smiled.

"Just do what you do best and treat me to some meal. There's a nice cafe nearby, and I also can't wait to get out of here and test out the training facilities."

"You know, I don't usually stick around for breakfast but I guess I'll make an exception for you." He took the apron off and dropped it on her head. "Take care of the dishes."

He left the kitchen, smirking.

* * *

Breakfast had turned into brunch. The cafe Misty had mentioned had been full, so they'd decided to go to another nearby restaurant instead. Brunch had been unexpectedly cordial, to the point where Gary was starting to believe Misty was warming up to him. She hadn't made too many nasty comments, so he hadn't had to return fire with low blows. He was even beginning to enjoy his time with her. His little 'mise-en-scene' had helped out more than he could ever hve imagined.

They were back to the Safari Hotel and on their way to the famous training spaces Misty was so impatient to try out, when they spotted Ash and co.

"Maybe we should come back later?" Gary offered.

"No, I have to tell him, it's better he finds out from me rather than someone else," Misty replied, before dismissing his worries with a laugh. "Anyway it's not like we're dating or anything, it's nothing to worry about."

Gary hoped that she would be more successful in convincing them than him. Knowing Ash's character, he would act impulsively upon such news, but Gary decided to keep this thought to himself.

"Ash! Brock!" Misty called out and Gary saw the average-sized boy turn to the voice that had called him with an expression that showed delight to see a loved one. Was it him or that same expression darkened at the very sight of him at Misty's sides? "How are you guys?"

"Hey Misty, last night was fun," Max offered her when it was clear both Ash and Brock was at a loss for words. Pikachu and May eyed the scene anxiously.

"Mist, Gary is behind you," Ash finally warned her.

"Is he the one you agreed to be partnered with?" Brock inquired as Ash shot him a glare that clearly questioned his sanity.

"Yeah, I told you it'd be a surprise." She laughed at her own humor though anyone could tell it was halfheartedly. Gary had no wish to potentially worsen the situation with words so he merely waved at them.

"Hi, Gary." Again, Max was the only to adopt normal social conventions by acknowledging the guy who happened to also be the topic of conversation.

Ash rashly took Misty's hand to lead her away from the group to the closest thing they could have to privacy, leaving Max, May, Brock and Gary to an awkward, and very forced, conversation.

"Ahem! So Gary... We hear you're..." But no further word came from the tanned guy.

"We hear," May quickly cut in to save the breeder in-training from embarassment, "you're...you're..." Only she also had no idea of what to say.

"You're a trainer!" Max, once again saved the day. Gary raised an eyebrow at how relieved they all looked.

"Yeah, about that... I'm thinking of becoming a researcher. Like my gramps."

"Oh..." The three replied in unison. A really uncomfortable silence followed.

"So Brock...I hear you... make good soup."

* * *

"What's going on Misty? Why are you with him?" It was easy to see he was greatly affected by all this, but still he was trying hard to be understanding of the whole situation, no matter how abstruse.

"A lot happened but basically he asked nicely and I accepted." And she knew explaining the whole thing wouldn't amount to much.

"Nice doesn't really fit Gary's description, Misty. He might be up to something."

"Like?" She hid the fact that she had had similar thoughts.

"Using you to get back at me for beating him in Johto? I don't know, but it's probably nothing _nice_. I just don't want you to be taken advantage of. You know I care."

"I'll be careful, I promise."

"You should just quit." Ash was being dead serious; it was barely a suggestion, more like a command.

"I said that I'll be careful, Ash," she replied in a firm tone. Too bad Ash didn't get the hint.

"I just don't understand... being with Brock is a problem but not with Gary? You have to admit it is kinda weird!"

"That's not fair! Neither Gary or Brock was my first choice and you know it Ash."

"I said that I was sorry. What was I supposed to do, drop May just like that?" He questioned, before mumbling so quietly under his breath that Misty almost missed it, "I might have if I'd known you were going to run to the enemy."

"Dammit Ash! I didn't plan for it! It just happened. I wish I could change my mind but..."

"Then do it! All you gotta do is just quit."

"It's not that simple!" Misty was now frustrated in front of Ash's stubbornness.

"Yes it is! No one can force you to do this if you don't want to. So no matter what trick he used, you can always back out."

"No, he didn't do anything. It's just that... look after I saw you, I met Gary. Somehow, I just became his partner. But it was only because I was still upset and not thinking straight ! I just...he can't," she mumbled, "pay for what happened between us so in the end I chose to stay with him."

"Pay for what happened?" Ash looked at her scandalized. "So you're the one who wants to get back at me. Not Gary." Shocked at this unexpected betrayal, Ash turned his back on her and walked away, probably not wanting _anyone_ to witness how hurt he was. It happened so fast, Misty didn't manage to do anything but stay glued to her spot. She felt her heart break upon this realization.

Seeing him leave so abruptly, Pikachu ran up to where Misty was and cast a worried look at her. After she motioned for him to follow him, it hesitantly went after Ash. Brock, May and Max followed the same pattern, also worried about Ash's state of mind.

"That went well," Gary kidded, after he had joined her, "C'mon, let's go check out the training grounds."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him. She was a mute empty shell that didn't care for anything anymore. No high-tech training facilities could ever distract her from her thoughts; the person she loved thought she was the most horrible person on the planet.

* * *

The events of yesterday kept of replaying in Misty's mind, to the point where, to her, time had in fact stopped. Gary had brought her dinner, breakfast, and lunch, but she still hadn't realized a complete day had gone by; she couldn't even remember what these meals had been. She was a sad sight; she hadn't showered that day, made conversation, or even taken more steps than required to reach the toilet. She had become the soulless girl that haunted the couch.

It had taken Gary a lot of convincing just to get her to change her clothes and leave for the qualification rounds. They got there though, and waited with countless trainers for their turn.

"Names?" The man at the stand, in front of a big computer screen, greeted them. He was too busy and overwhelmed for courtesy.

"Gary Oak and Misty Waterflower," Gary answered for them both.

"One minute please," the clerk commented, beginning to enter data into his computer, "I'm sure you'll make a great pair, could you wait a second please?" After a few more moments of typing the man continued, not looking up from his screen, "Gary Oak, you got ranked in both the Indigo and Johto Leagues. As for you Miss Waterflower, I see you're a gym leader."

The man gestured to a big door on their right, "Go through there whenever you're ready, and get your bags and sign the attendance sheet. Someone should also give you a team number, make sure of this. A staff member will hand you your equipment before you board a bus, and once everyone is on board, you'll be on your way. The buses leave in a matter of hours. Understood?"

The pair nodded and the man finished up, adding a congratulations for the both of them.

"Thanks, but weren't we supposed to be evaluated? I was under the impression that we would battle," Gary asked.

"Only people we don't have sufficient data for have to, just to prove themselves capable," the employee explained, "We have over three hundred teams applying, and it saves time if we don't bother evaluating competent trainers such as yourselves." He seemed so tired already and not even half of the trainers in the place had passed. Still, he offered them an odd smile before adding, "I can tell that you two will go far. One last question though , are you two dating?"

At first they looked at him as if he wasn't serious. When he appeared to still be waiting for a reply, only then did they realized he hadn't been joking. "No," They both answered at the same time with no hesitation, although their puzzled looks didn't put the representative at ease. This just seemed too familiar to Misty, except she'd deny such accusation with much more energy with Ash.

"I apologize," the man went to explain, "We're tracking statistics to see how many couples will hook up, break up, or remain the same. It's just for publicity."

* * *

After the exchange, they had returned to their room, Misty finally deciding to take a shower and show a bit more of life. It was her last moments of comfort for awhile afterall.

Gary just checked his bags for the umpteenth time. He hated that feeling of forgetting something; he was so detail-oriented. When he was satisfied with his last checkup, the words of the clerk came to haunt him. "What do you think is going to happen to us, Waterflower?" He unconsciously ambushed her with the question just as she came back from the shower, completely freshened up.

"Surviving would be a good start."

"You know what I mean. About the statistics."

"I don't know, sometimes unexpected things happens." She sighed as if he was only pestering her. There clearly was nothing to talk about here.

"I was sure you were going to state how we could never be together, or something about your undying love for Ashy-boy. Look at you being all mature and stuff."

"I was thinking more along the lines of me killing you out of exasperation when I said unexpected. However, it's not that unexpected I guess..." She laughed in the way Gary had come to be accustomed to. She was always closing her eyes when she did which made her so defenseless.

He went up to her and quickly pecked her cheek.

"How unexpected was that?" He teased once Misty pushed him off her.

"What the hell was that for?"

"Waterflower, calm down! It was only an innocent peck on the cheek," Gary chuckled and went to take refuge on the opposite side of the bed as she had given him chase. Misty was either excessively pissed off or embarrassed, as she was bright red. Red was a nice color on her face though, Gary figured, it kind of went well with her carrot head. He took out his mobile phone from his pocket, showing it off to Misty in a way that suggested a warning.

"What are you doing with this?"

"Calling for some help, there's a mad Gyarados raging after me." He started to dial a random number.

"Who are you calling a Gyarados?"

"Damn, the battery is dead."

"And so are you." Misty could tell by the light the cellphone still gave out that he was lying, something that amused her greatly. She prepared to hit him, not the least bit sorry.

"Wait! People might report you for abuse if I show up with a bunch of bruises on my handsome face."

"I'll just hit the body then," she slyly smiled at him.

"This is just an excuse to get your hands on my body. I'm onto you."

"You are dangerously pushing it, Dragon kisser."

Gary sighed and bore a grave look, as if he had just come to heartbreaking decision, "You leave me no choice, Waterflower." Quickly, he rolled over the bed away from her and grabbed the biggest thing the bed possessed; "Pillow fight!" He swung the pillow at her back.

"You should be ashamed of yourself, hitting someone in the back. And a girl at that!" Misty tried to retreat in a safe distance, using her hands for cover.

"A girl? No. Female? Yes. Gyarados are well known for their destructive tendencies so really I don't feel bad at all."

Suddenly everything turned to black. Misty had thrown the covers over him. He couldn't see what she was doing or were she was at anymore. "I'm a pro at pillow fighting," Came her voice, "You have one sister, I have three. Sorry Oak, this is my win."

* * *

"Now, that was a great way to pass time. Just wished you would have been gentler with the swinging."

"Your lips had no business on me."

"You're making a big deal out of nothing, we could be a great couple if it wasn't for you," Gary mocked. Misty took the nearest pillow and threw it at him, causing him to duck. Boy, this girl was just too easy to rile up.

"Stop teasing me, would you?"

"I can't. Do you have any idea just how cute and funny you are when you're angry?"

"You're a jerk."

"Seriously, you are," Gary chuckled at how she really couldn't bear compliments, "Are you disappointed it was only on the cheek? Don't worry I'll take care of your virgin lips later."

"Keep on dreaming," She didn't like his teasing one bit, which only made it more fun to Gary, "This is ridiculous, stop it."

"It's not ridiculous, it's called destiny. You and me, alone, for a whole week together. Nothing more romantic comes to mind."

"You're so lucky I don't have any pillows left." Gary didn't need to look, he knew Misty was rolling her eyes.

"I am lucky to be with you."

"Are you done?"

"Maybe..." Misty could see he was having way too much fun at her expense. When did he get so comfortable around her? She had to put him back to his place.

"Okay, let me rephrase that," She raised her fist menacingly, "Are you done?"

"Yes sir!" Nothing but her tone had changed but Gary knew better than to challenge the red-head, so he suddenly grew obedient. However, his job was done; she was no longer her pitiful but lively again. Hopefully, it'd stay this way.

"That's a lot better." It was her turn to smile, "Let's go, Dragon kisser, we wasted enough time."

To any outsider who didn't know the relationship between Misty and Gary, the messy hair, slightly sweaty and red with efforts faces, the ruffled clothes, and heavy panting would have greatly misinformed them of what had really happened behind doors. Of course, neither Gary or Misty thought much of it as they left for the formerly instructed door, not really bothering to straighten themselves up.

* * *

**End of chapter **

_So how was it? I have a little bit more time to write so my chapters are longer…but don't expect me to continue hehe. I updated everything twice in less than two weeks! Hooray! C'mon, guys, just admit that you are impressed…:P _

_Well c ya! And thanks for reading again_

_~michelicious_


	6. Or Maybe Worse!

_****__Today is my birthday. So yeah, I wanted to do something but then I had no idea. I never really care about my own b-day -.- so here's what I'll do. I'll give you an early update. Yeah me ! :P This chapter needed a bit more work but it'll do. Enjoy ! _

_Here's chapter 6, I'm starting to separate the sections since there going to have more of Ash/May interactions. Hope it'll help you :) loL! Enjoy! Oh yeah... I dedicate this chapter to Winry-13! Thanks for your support :)_

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Or Maybe Worse!**

* * *

Misty and Gary were now in bus number 3, sharing the same seat, in direction to one of the Safari Zone drop points. They had learned not so long ago that each bus was going to a different location. Misty sighed in relief when she realized that Ash and May weren't on the same one. She was safe from further confrontation or fighting with her best friend and crush.

Like formerly explained, the security staff had equipped them after they had searched their bags for any sign of disobedience to the rules. It was never pleasant to witness sunglasses-wearing personnel messing with your personal effects in an attempt to incriminate you with something. Misty had just gritted her teeth without commenting. Her looked had changed for a softer one upon receiving the items that would serve them on their adventure. Finally, the whole thing was about to begin. She had anticipated this moment for a long time now. However, just more wait welcomed her when late trainers or unexpected problems delayed the bus. The Safari Zone was at about two hours away from the city. With Gary next to her, she knew the ride would be over in no time; Fighting made time fly by so fast.

"Tell me again why you got the seat next to the window." Gary complained again. The bus was noisy with team arguing, talking, laughing and even some loudly kissing. Talking and arguing was within their reach, in fact when it came to that they beat any other pair in the bus. Compared to their first day together, this was a lot more pleasant: they had come to domesticate their banter in a way that would make it enjoyable. They wouldn't admit it to anyone though. Including themselves.

"Simple, I beat you to it."

"As if I could physically dominate you without people taking me for an abusive brute." Gary borrowed Misty's signature roll of eyes. "I still think we should have at least talked about it. You know, like a team."

"I would have ended up with the seat anyway. You're still supposed to be the idiot who makes me feel better. Mine isn't on speaking terms with me because of you."

"So when I am guilt-tripping you it's a crime but when it's you, it's common sense? Double standard."

"Stop whining, Oak. Are you really that sad about not getting the window?" She gave him an amused look.

"I'm studying to be a professor; I was looking forward to spotting different Pokemon in their natural element. Whatever. Talking about Pokemon, which one did you bring?"

"A water-type."

"That's a given. You're the Cerulean Gym Leader. I brought Arcanine." He hoped his confession would get one out of her.

"You'll find out eventually."

"I could get an answer out of you if I wanted. Torture," he added that last word after she glanced at him curiously.

"Torture?" Misty burst out laughing at his provocation. "I admit your presence and nonsense are a perpetual torture. Nevertheless, that won't break me."

"Are you ticklish, Waterflower?"

"You wouldn't dare..." The objection had been instant. Misty's voice had come out as deep and grave in a sad attempt to sound threatening. Her frown accentuated the vicious glare she was staring him down with. Her previous nonchalence was a thing of the past; to her eyes he had just been promoted to 'Greatest Evil Alive'.

"I've been watching you for awhile. You two are adorable!" A girlish voice coming from behind interrupted them. "Are you two going out?" Gary and Misty turned around to the girl right behind their seat. She appeared to be a petite brunette with child-like facial features. Her honey-brown eyes spelled innocence. The guy next to her, her partner, had dirty sand colored hair. He didn't seem as much interested as her in them. In fact, he had his eyes closed and didn't seem to pay attention to what the girl was doing.

"No," again they replied simultaneously to the question they knew the answer to so well.

"Oh. Friends?"

"We're barely friendly," Misty replied, monitoring Gary's reactions to see if he would remember his own words.

"Frienemies then. That kind of love-hate relationship still hold some potential, you know? By the way, I am Sophia."

"Acquaintanceship," Misty corrected the female brunette. "I'm Misty."

"Gary."

"This is Ryan. He's obviously bored out of his mind." Sophia was bothered by his attitude. "How about we play some game? Truth or dare!" Her annoyance had soon changed into excitement. It was hard to even think of refusing with her eyes shining so brightly in expectation. "Ryan, wake up."

"I'm awake."

"Great, we're playing truth or dare. You start." She was pressuring him into playing. "They're both good-looking." She added as an incentive. "Especially the boy." She gave Gary a flattering smile.

"Handsome guy, truth or dare?" Ryan decided to pick on Gary who didn't really please him with the description his teammate had given him.

"Dare."

"Dare you to kiss this girl, three seats behind on your right." He hadn't bothered to open his eyes to look at Gary or his victim even with the start of the game. He must have spotted her when he first entered the bus. The girl was pretty. That would have been a pleasant dare except for one thing: there was a pachyderm on the window seat, next to her. He seemed to be asleep but more than one would be intimidated to just approach the girl. Not Gary. Misty and Sophia watched as Gary muttered some words and after the maiden blushed a little, she let Gary kissed her. Even as he was coming back, she couldn't keep her eyes off him.

"I take it it's my turn." Gary ignored the girl's longing gaze or Misty's and their new friend's incredulous ones. "What is it?"

"Cocky bastard, what did you tell her?"

"A pickup line."

"You're a player. We get it. I meant what words did you use."

"I'll let you find out eventually." Gary gave her his most sufficient look. Payback was a bitch. Sophia, an innocent bystander in this, was silently pleading him to share his secret with her. That could only piss off Misty more to let her know. He whispered in her ears a few words. The girl let out an appreciative laugh. She then shared with her partner, out of Misty's hearing range.

"Smooth." That one commented. He had finally opened his eyes to take a better look at the not-so-lame-in-the-end guy in front of him.

"You're always pissing me off on purpose." Misty sulked. She would feel like an outsider for the rest of the ride.

"Sophia, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Would that line had worked on you?"

"If it's you saying it, definitely."

"Heck, it would have worked on me!" Ryan had just joined the rank of the people who enjoyed annoying Misty. She was barely containing her frustration now.

"I think I deserve to know too. The only so-called secret you told me is your delusional belief that you are going to win this competition hands-down and I've put up with you for much longer than they have."

"Yet, you just blurted it out. You cannot be trusted, Waterflower."

Misty decided not to give him the satisfaction of knowing she was more annoyed. After details about Misty's panties, Ryan's admission to having once kissed a guy - not on purpose he had insisted - , Sophia's dare to sniff up a sleeping guy's armpits and a whole ordeal of embarrassing dares and confessions, Gary had picked truth again.

"Have you ever worn make-up?" Ryan had been seeking out his revenge on Gary for having exposed his 'accidental' homosexual experiment.

"Yes."

"Knew it! You're the kind who likes to wear mascara, ha ha!" The guy was obviously thrilled with every piece of manhood he could stripped off Gary.

"Don't get your hopes up Ryan, honey. It was one time, recently in fact, and it was just concealer. I was just faking a co-" He stopped before finishing his last word. Ryan and the honesty this game asked for had completely made him forget about how he should have kept this to himself. Worried, he looked at Misty. He was hoping for dear life that she hadn't made the connection. One stare and he knew he had done irreversible damage. "Let me explain."

"Don't you dare utter another word!" Her not-so-long-ago warm blue eyes turned to icy cold. The friendly atmosphere disappeared. Tension made it hard for anyone to move.

"We... will let you guys settle this." Sophia chose to retreat, dragging Ryan down with her.

"Listen..."

"Drop the concern will you! Do you have any idea of what I did to Ash, to our friendship? He said that you tricked me but I ignored _him_! My best friend! I thought iI was doing the right thing but you manipulated me!" For the first time, Gary wished he had been born without ears. Misty's voice only got louder unfortunately.

"You are one poor excuse of a human being! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? I felt guilt when I wasn't even guilty yet ever since what happened you looked at me straight in the eye, you even laughed with me and I'd bet my right arm that it never even dawn on you how wrong it all was!" Tears of frustration welled up in Misty's eyes. "And I thought that you turned out to be a pretty decent person." The last part had been said in less than a whisper. Gary almost missed it. Misty had turned around, probably to hide her embarrassment or tears. No one in the bus talked for the rest of the ride. The outrage had reconciled any previous pair fighting and paralyzed anyone else. The last hour seemed longer than the first one to everyone. Especially Gary.

* * *

"Ash? You've been awfully quiet during the whole trip... This isn't like you, I'd thought you'd be ecstatic about the Safari Quest," said a worried brown-haired girl to her raven-haired companion as they got off their bus. They had been the first one out. Others soon followed them. One last time, the skinny representative who had accompanied them reminded to all the contestants getting ready to not issue challenges or engage in battles in the first day. Penalties or disqualifications would be issued out to disobedient trainers, he had warned them.

"Maybe we should advance and then find a clearing where we could camp out, what do you think?" No answer. "Let's just keep on going until we find a suitable place. Then we'll plan our next move."

May patiently chose not to push Ash for a reply. She decided he would have to agree with any of her decisions if he wasn't about to give up his attitude. They had head east and, slowly but surely, fewer trainers were in their lines of vision. Eventually, none was. When May judged that they had traveled long enough and that the place they were at was suitable with a drinking point nearby, she set down the bags she was carrying. Soundlessly, Ash and her set out to work and install camp. When they were done, as he had still not utter a word, she finally decided to hold the bull by its horns.

"What's on your mind?" She had an idea what was troubling him but desperately wanted him to talk. "Ash? Ash... Ash!"

"Hmm?" He snapped out of it. "Anything wrong?"

"That's what I was about to ask." She giggled at his dumbfound face. "You can talk to me."

"Hmm." May wasn't even sure he had registered her words. He tried to start the fire that would cook their dinner while May got some canned food out. Strangely, the fire was refusing to start. He was getting more and more impatient. "I can't bear it!" he exclaimed surprising May with his outburst.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm exhausted, I'm hungry, that stupid fire... Everything!" he implored the sky before sighing and sitting down. "It's just... she's my best friend," he finally managed. "I always thought friends stick together. I don't care too much about Gary but I never thought she could do something like that. I still can't believe it." May nodded in understanding. That encouraged Ash to go on. "I just feel betrayed and...and...and now I'm an awful companion to you." He apologetically smiled at her.

"Oh, Ash! Listen to me, you will never ever bother me. Really, it's okay. I know you're upset. I know how important Misty is to you and I can tell you are also important to her. I don't know, maybe she had her reasons to act the way she did? I don't think she meant to hurt you," she pondered on the situation. "She seemed to feel pretty awful about it."

"I don't see why she would act this way. I guess I'll have to ask her. Right after we take first prize." May was surprised to see his usual confident grin return so soon. Ash was pretty bad at being down and depressed. She giggled. "Swellow I choose you!" Ash added before releasing his flying pokemon

"I'm still surprised you didn't bring Pikachu instead."

"Swellow is more useful when it comes to exploring and Pikachu is the best babysitter I had for Brock and my other pokemon," he explained. May giggled when he mentioned Brock.

"I also asked my brother to keep an eye on him." They both laughed out loud at Brock's perpetual girl-crazy ways.

"Let's let Swellow lead the way. He'll notify us if he spots something. Let's go get some water."

Ash and May walked for awhile, admiring the landscape at the same time. There were trees everywhere and some clear place, plains, like where they were currently walking. The remains of the sun were bravely shining brightly on them making the evening a really hot one. They couldn't wait to eat then hit the sack but as they were walking and the sunbeams got weaker which made it a bit more bearable. Finally, they arrived at the little river that had influenced May's choice to stay. There was an apple tree on the shore. Ash plunged his head into the water, he had just realized how thirsty he had been.

"Water... so... good!" he exclaimed. Water was drenching his shirt but he didn't care as his attention got on the apples. All of the sudden, he was more determined than ever to test his tree climbing skills.

"You should have eaten and drank more." Ash sometimes reminded May of the needy little brother Max never was. She could always practice her motherly instincts on him. This was a bit funny to her as Ash was the older one.

"Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself." The branch to which Ash was holding on abruptly cracked causing Ash to fall. "Most of the time." He clarified with a timid smile while massaging his painful back.

"Ash! Are you alright?"

"I'll be okay. Besides," he continued more seriously, "If I can't get over such an obstacle, I may as well just give up now and spare us both the trouble." He initiated a second attempt at getting the apples.

"You're right. We shouldn't get depressed on mere step-backs." She watched Ash as he had gotten closer to the apples than at his first try. "Our goal is to beat every team, including Misty's."

* * *

They had set camp near a river, it was a convenient and practical location. Logs to start fire and drinking water were nearby. Small bushes supplying wild berries were also close by. The ground was soft, easy to put up a tent into. The last benefit of this temporary camp was how low key it was since vegetation was abundant enough to offer cover. Misty had been silent while Gary had single-handedly set up the tent and started a fire. He was keeping an eye on Misty whom he assumed was still fuming about the incident. She had found a sitting spot on a dead tree trump and hadn't moved since they had found the place. Gary knew he would have to initiate a dialogue sooner or later. Later seemed a better idea though.

Gary released Arcanine so he could stretch a bit and help by being on the lookout. His superior senses could detect intruders way before Gary's after all. Gary was looking among the bags for maybe something to eat. Something easy to cook, that he'd only have to heat up. He wondered if Misty was hungry. It was almost dinner time.

"Are you hungry?"

No response. She was probably going to ignore him for a good while. In her current state, he wouldn't be surprised if she just went out to look for a Safarian and resign from the competition. He had no problem believing she couldn't stand the very sight of him. He found an instant noodles packages and a recipient to cook them in. He went to retrieve some water and started the simple cooking process. He had prepared two servings. He got out pokemon food for Arcanine and quickly ate his meal. He brought Misty's portion closer to her trump and decided to explore the surroundings a bit. This was an excuse to give Misty some breathing space.

"I'm back," he announced an hour later, though he didn't want to disturb her peace too much. His hair was dripping water. He had taken a swim to relax a bit. Something that sometimes help him feel better. It had drained the life out of him though. He knew that what he was about to say wouldn't please Misty too much.

"There's only one tent." He spotted a slight reaction. Annoyance was still better than nothing so he smiled. "I'll take a sleeping bag and sleep outside," he volunteered. "Maybe, you should rest. Tomorrow's going to be more intense." Arcanine gently bark after Misty as she moved towards the tent. "He's wishing you goodnight." Misty gave a small smile to the pokemon after the explanation. She then disappeared behind the temporary housing's zipping doors. "Guess it's just the two of us" Gary said to Arcanine who affectionately growled in response to its master petting its head.

* * *

**End of chapter**

_How'd like it? Not as good as the previous one I know and maybe it was a little bit cheesy :P SORRY… I had some kind of author block like when I planned the story I just thought of the end and a bit of random event in the middle of the fic…not really of how to starts and everything that's why it took so much time to get in the Safari Zone or even Update loll! Wellthere's some stuff that seems stupid or to be just a way i made to introduce a situation orproblem, nope! about everything is related :P neways..._

_thanks for sticking with me all this time! I really appreciate guys,_

_C ya!_

_~michelicious_


	7. Onomatopeia Order

**_I guess you all waited for it so here it is ! Loll, well at least I didn't make you wait THAT long hehe :P Just wanted to add that I forgot to mention that the Safaridex was the "Pokedex" specially made for the contest that Pr. Oak furnished. Since I'm now starting to use it it'll be in italic and ''. Also I don't know every TM number or what moves can pokemon learn so I may be wrong… Thanks and Enjoy!_**

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Onomatopoeia Order**

* * *

The wing was singing a melody for every wild Pokemon and occupant of nature to hear. The scent of last night fire and dinner was still fresh in the air. The river, as peaceful as ever, was running the usual way it would have on any other common day. The morning had assisted dawn on its disappearance and its first sunbeams, weak and pale, landed on Ash's bare skin.

Today wasn't any new day to him. It was the continuation of the adventure and the thrill he knew would be in abundance from now on. Danger was hiding and waiting for him at every corner. Who knew which wild beast or what surprise he'd encounter? It was the way he couldn't predict anything that got him so thrilled. Even the nature of his upcoming challenges was a mystery to him. The one thing he was sure about was that he'd take on any challenge, head on. He had waited too long for this day to arrive. Today was the present, yesterday the past. He pushed aside yesterday's morose attitude. No way would he let it be the set mood from now on. It had been a little while now since he had gotten outside the tent.

May was still sleeping soundly in their shelter. At the thought of it, Ash slightly blushed. He was used to sleeping outdoors with a female companion but never in a tent so closely. Besides, he was fine with just sleeping bags. The equipment the Safari Quest officials had issued included a tent. He had been a bit too preoccupied to realize the real meaning behind sharing a tent with the opposite sex. Through the night, Ash kept looking at May who fortunately had her back turned to him. His sleep had been disturbed by how nervous he had been all along. Anxious would be a better fit of word. On the other hand, May had seemed to be peaceful and comfortable with the idea. Ash quickly brushed it away. May was a dear friend of his; he really shouldn't have such weird thoughts about her.

He wondered to himself if similar reactions would have occurred if he had been with Misty before cursing himself. He was again feeling a bit guilty about her not being by his side. He hadn't admitted to May yesterday that he felt like he was slowly pushing her away. It wasn't on purpose, there's no way he'd wish to purposely lose Misty in his life. It's just that he was shrinking at the thought that he had pushed her into Gary's arms. That they were sharing a tent together, in such proximity, that she would be as defenseless and clueless as May had been... He blushed hard at the thought and shook his head. The images were really unpleasant. It had killed his earlier feelings of excitement.

He decided to wander off a little further away from the camp on his own. There was no other intent behind that decision but to get rid of all the unnecessary thoughts he had just had. May shouldn't have to deal with his gloomy self. She was supposed to have as much fun as he did on this adventure. Leaving foot prints behind him, he made his way back to the tree he and May had stumbled upon the day before. His steps had finally guided him to said tree and he heard his stomach grumble in anticipation of some juicy treats, when a sound erupted.

**TOC**

A sudden acute pain pierced his head. Instinctively, Ash reached up to its top, where the pain was threatening to resonate through his whole body. Wishing to find the source of the sound which would probably also happen to be the source of the pain, Ash looked around him. He could feel a bump already growing out the top of his head. He covered even more aggressively his hat in order to protect himself from further attacks.

He had made a large number of various turns of head to try and spot everything around him but, still, no clue as to where the sound had come from. He was about to give up and just forget about his apples and get away from the tree when he heard the shuffle of leaves. Strange, the wind wasn't even blowing that hard for leaves to make that much noise. Maybe apples had fallen down the plant and that was what had hit him. He looked up. For some reason he saw the apple of the tree...and another tree he hadn't realized had been there all along? How come there were two trees now instead of one?

He closed his eyes, shook his head and opened his eyes again to the same two trees. The idea had crossed him than maybe due to the shock he had momentarily seen double. To his surprise not only were there really two tree, but one of them appeared to be closer to him than before. Before he could make any sense of what was happening, another projectile was coming his way...

* * *

**BOOM**

"Awwww!"

Now, it was May's turn to be awaken. She didn't get a chance to a natural, pleasant wake. Instead, unusual sounds startled her. They were coming from outside the tent. She was quick to get out and face whatever it was that had caused such ruckus so early. She saw Ash all tangled up in yesterday's fire and cooking remains. Apparently, he had ran away from something. She shook away the drowsiness of an ineffective night of sleep and looked around for danger or an unexpected sight. Nothing, there was Ash, a tree, their tent, the extinct camp fire ... Wait! There was no tree yesterday at that same spot. Her eyebrows met over her nose in a confused demeanor. Was the lack of sleep getting to her?

"Ash, what's going on?"

"Morning, May!" Ash addressed her a sheepish smile. "I don't know, this tree has been after me for the past two minutes. It just grew feet and started to chase after me," he explained as if this was the natural way of things. His attacker launched him another white round object that Ash barely evaded. "Boy, that was close!" Ash then looked up to see his aggressor, it suddenly dawn on him that this could be a Pokemon as he took out the Safaridex that was in his right pocket.

'_Exeggcutor is a rare tree __P__okemon, living mostly in tropical lands and forest. Part grass and part psychic it's evolved from Exeggcute.'_

"So, it's a rare Pokemon. What a lucky encounter." May rejoiced. Ash was still rubbing his head painfully. "You could catch it," she suggested to him.

"Already on it." Ash tossed his only Pokeball releasing his bird-type Pokemon. "Swellow, I choose you!" The Pokemon cried its name in a cheerful manner, visibly glad to be called out of its Pokeball. "All right! Swellow, use Gust!"

Swellow quickly moved his wings and a powerful wing attack emerged.

"Exegg-exeggcutor!" A shield appeared, protecting it from the attack.

"What's that?" exclaimed Ash, surprised. "Swellow, try again with Steel Wing!"

As soon as he ordered it, Swellow picked up speed and charged at the plant Pokemon with rendered silvered wings. Exeggcutor riposted with a confusion attack, throwing Swellow backward and quickly sent smoking eggs which hid its whereabouts.

"Gust, Swellow," Ash ordered again, coughing. But it was too late; as soon as the smoke vanished, Exeggcutor was nowhere to be seen. May drew her eyes to the last spot where Exeggcutor had been. Nothing. It had disappeared without leaving any clue to where it was headed. Something shiny caught both hers and Ash's attention though. Ash was soon to pick up a medium sized object with **TM #08 **written over it.

"Could it be…? Ash, I think this is a technical machine," May labeled the unknown object.

"A what?"

"A technical machine! It's used to teach new moves to Pokemon. My dad uses them all the time

"Never used one before... what move can it teach?" Ash was now holding the small capsule as if it was the most fragile thing in the world.

"I think we can figure it out with the Safaridex. Can you hand it over?"

Ash wasted no time to comply to her wish. May took it and entered **TM#08** in the mini-computer. Quickly a response was both heard and written on the device.

'_Rock Smash: The user attacks with a punch that can shatter a rock. It may also lower the target's defense.'_

"Waa…" exclaimed Ash, in awe. "Sounds powerful."

"Unfortunately, it's written here that Swellow can't learn the attack…" May pressed a few other buttons. "Flying-type can't learn fighting moves." Ash's grin vanished after May's explanation.

"Oh." Ash took a moment to reflect upon it. "I'll just wait then. It's bound to be useful to some other new Pokemon I'd catch. Let's get breakfast ready! All this commotion got me hungry me," Ash added, smiling. May approved, returning his smile.

"When are you _not _hungry, Ash." Her giggles and the truth behind that statement turned Ash's smile into a goofy grin.

* * *

"For the umpteenth time, I am sorry." Gary was trying his best to keep up with her pace. "I thought we had already established that."

"Who knows? You could just be making a habit of lying to me."

"Okay...I deserved that one. But hey, you were being a real pain in the ass." He knew the words had hit home as he saw Misty's back be shaken by what appeared, from the sound, to be a snort. Not exactly forgiveness-awarding words, but he was doing his best with being at least honest. "I didn't mean to insult you, I'm just explaining what went through my head. I really do feel bad about the whole thing, kinda."

"_Kinda? _Tell me, what do you feel bad about? Lying or getting caught?"

"Honestly? Both." Again, he knew this one wouldn't get him any points neither. "This is me being sincere here," he defended when he saw her back quiver in anger. While he was a bit worried being at the end of her wrath, Gary had to admit he was a bit glad to see Misty finally engaging into conversation. Sure, it was more her shooting him down any chance she got but that was still a good start. In fact, had their relationship been anything else?

Misty was stubbornly leading them to a random direction. He had had the courtesy of loading all of their bags on Arcanine's back with the harness he had brought. The giant crimson dog was following them not so far behind.

"Look." She sighed and turned to face him. "It's okay, I'm over it."

"Really?" Gary felt a heavy burden off his shoulders though he was fairly surprised with her quick recovery. "You do know that I wouldn't mind you making me work a little harder for your forgiveness?" He was only half-joking. Both to appease her a bit with humor and self-bashing, and to make sure this argument wouldn't become a recurring reference to how despicable he was. Nothing to do with _guilt_, really.

"Oh, I don't forgive you." She resumed her walk. "I was disappointed. Something I realized was stupid since it'd imply I had expectations of you. Clearly, _I_ was in the wrong here." Her tone wasn't giving out any indication to what she might have been feeling. He was _persona non granta _to her feelings. He could feel the imaginary hex she probably thought up, upon his own person. Surely, she wanted him gone or the other way around. "If you're worrying about me quitting, don't. I won't since I already agreed to it."

"I didn't ask for more." The words found their way out by themselves and like Misty's, they were in a neutral tone. He was relieved but should have been happier about the outcome of the argument. Only, he didn't feel too good about it. The message was loud and clear; he wasn't worth her breaking her word even if it guaranteed her permanent immunity from him. He had just asked for a decent partner, one that could at least be parred up with his abilities. Why feel so bad about it? She never would have been that person had he not done what he did. He got rid of these thoughts. Now that he had her cooperation, he wouldn't get greedy and also wish for her approbation.

* * *

Misty saw from a distance a big rock near a tall rare tree producing shadows. She was tired. They had walked all morning and, although she had been a veteran hiker while traveling with Ash and Brock, she had to admit she was a bit out of shape after sitting around through gym leader duties for the past year. Gary had proposed for them to ride Arcanine together but she had declined his offer like she had with his apologies, if that's what he called admitting being _also _, _partly_ wrong. As if she would let him manipulate her into forgiving him using cheap tricks disguised in good deeds. He had still insisted on Arcanine carrying their bags. She had let him. _Just_ for the sake of him shutting up. Which by the way hadn't happened in the end. She had had to silence him herself. A tingling sensation revisited her lower waist.

"Oak, stop following me." She had been ignoring her urge for awhile now, this could be a good opportunity.

"So you just agreed not to leave in order to make me leave instead. Smart, but I am not going anywhere. We are a team."

"Have it your way," she retorted in a cold unfriendly voice. Gary just had this gift to render her enraged. It made her completely irrational at times. "Take off your pants then," she added as she decided that facing him would make her sound more impressive. She continued, "I bet teams have to pee together too?"

She finished, turning around eager to ravish him with sarcasm. She heard something that sounded like a zipper gliding down. There was a moment of silence partly caused by complete utter shock on both ends and partly due to there being no existing words proper to the situation. When she saw that her poor excuse as a human of a teammate had reached down to his pants that were now unbuttoned and zipped down, the youngest Waterflower got struck by stupor. When she summoned the last of her reason to analyze the situation and understood what could have led him to such outrageous behavior, something in her head snapped. The water Pokemon trainer had no clue as to what exactly it was or what function it held, but she knew that any trace of decency was too far gone by then. Misty was overwhelmed with a rage that would put any Gyarados to shame and, certainly, did not bother to hide her disgust. Did he _seriously_ think even for a moment that she was the kind of girl who loved to indulge in angry sex session? With him, _of all people_?

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

She stormed off when she saw that he was too stunned, paralyzed to move. Or that his disappearance was too slow in occuring. Only something along the likes of an Abra's Teleportation would have been quick enough for her. He could only see her back which meant no facial expression to help him decipher the state of her mood but he was being smart enough not to chase after her. At least, he had inherited of _some_ of his grandfather's genius.

* * *

She had satisfied her bladder needs but was still away, resting under the tree. Lately, trees had seemed to become an emotional shelter for her. She was in no hurry to go back to her perverted partner. This one last stunt had been especially disturbing. Did he really think she had wanted him bottomless? The nerves of that boy! She wasn't anywhere near that Stacy girl's level, fawning all over him. Also, couldn't he read the mood? Even if they were in that kind of relationship, she wouldn't have been ready for any love-making sessions anytime soon. She pitied any girlfriend of his: Sex wasn't the way to deal with issues.

Misty started to laugh to herself when she realized she was probably having another mental breakdown; she was officially thinking of _Gary Oak_ in a weird, remotely romantic way. She gave a quick glance to where they had been before, he was no where to be seen. He had probably walked off somewhere to clear his heads from what had happened.

_'As if I'd really want to do that kind of things with him. He probably look awful naked,'_ She mused.

She was starting to laugh again to herself, amused by the thought but slowly images of him, two days ago, in a tight-fitting shirt and boxers invaded her mind. She remembered detaching painfully her eyes from his chest back then. The memories horrified her. She couldn't come up with an excuse to justify her past delirious actions.

"You!" A rude voice rescued her from her quandary. It belonged to a guy. She looked at the direction of the noise and noticed a trainer. A relatively tall brown-haired boy wearing a dark blue v-neck and a determined look on his face, surely a fellow contestant. "We're looking for people to battle," he confirmed her theory.

"Yeah, there's like some gate not far from here but you need eleven stars to pass it. We're three stars short so ready for battle?" his companion explained, showing up. In comparison, she appeared to be really small, almost fragile. Her blonde locks reminded Misty of Stacy's which irritated her. "Go get your partner." She didn't sound more pleasant.

"No way."

"What? You know rules: You can't turn down a challenge."

"Then I'll handle you guys without him. Shouldn't be too hard." A little of Gary's arrogance had maybe rubbed off on her. She shivered at the thought. She could see that _blondie_ was about to say something probably not-so-nice when her teammate stopped her.

"Alright. Put three stars at stake," he dared her, suggesting through provocation to what wouldn't be the wisest move. "Surely, you wouldn't bother three if we really are no trouble."

He was taunting her, it was obvious. The girl's satisfied look didn't help making the situation any better. They didn't look like tough opponents though. Years of Gym battling had sharpened her trainer instincts.

"Is that a no?"

"You'll regret provoking me.'" The girl and the boy smiled to each other for their small victory. Another bigger one wasn't too far off.

"Here's our three stars." They placed the stars on the rock Misty had seen near of the tree. She put hers there as well. "Let's do it!" The unnamed guy grinned. "Quilava, go!"

"I can't believe she was dumb enough to take the bait! Furret, go!"

"Go for it Poliwhirl!" The latter Pokemon appeared in front of the other two, ready to fight. After a moment of no movement or sounds, the pair of trainer burst off laughing mockingly. The detestable girl's giggles stung Misty like mosquitoes.

"And I thought you had at least two Pokemon! I pity your partner for your stupidity."

"Poliwhirl use water gun on Quilava!" Misty furiously shouted. Actions always spoke louder than words.

"Furret, quick! Follow me!"

"Qui!"

Furret did some kind of taunting dance and frustrated Poliwhirl, Poliwhirl attacked Furret instead of Quilava. This confused Misty; Poliwhirl never disobeys her. She quickly rationalized it must have been the effects of Furret's last attack. Her thoughts were interrupted.

"Quilava, use take down!"

Quilava charged on Poliwhirl with great speed building momentum. Poliwhirl that was distracted by whatever Furret was doing, didn't dodge. A good deal of damage was inflicted on it. Quilava also suffered a harsh recoil.

"It's okay Poliwhirl, just get up and use mega punch" Misty encouraged.

"Quilava, use fire spin!"

Furret got hit hard and fell down but now fire was circling Poliwhirl. He couldn't get out of it. Slowly, more damage was inflicted. A fire trail reached the tree Misty had not so long ago been resting under. It was right behind Poliwhirl but no one paid attention even though the dry grass around it caught on fire.

"It doesn't matter if you're stuck, you can still attack! Poliwhirl, use bubblebeam." The attack went on both Pokemon critically hitting Quilava, who was still up unfortunately, and dealing some damage on Furret.

"That barely hurt us and you're still trapped!" the blonde was making fun of her, "You should have put out the fire, dummy!"

"Poliwhirl, hydro pump!"

"Dodge it Furret/Quilava!"

Both opponents ordered but the bubblebeam had greatly slowed down both Pokemon to their inadvertence. Furret couldn't dodge it in time as the attack was directed to him because of his follow me attack. He fainted. Poliwhirl was also free from the fire circle. Things weren't looking too good for them now. Blondie recalled her Pokemon while ordering Adrian, as she had called him, to make her pay for this..

"She has type advantage, babe. Not cool..."

"Use water gun!"

"Dodge!" Quilava successfully dodged the attack. "Tackle, now!"

"Counter attack with body slam." Poliwhirl jumped in the air and counter the attack with his stronger one. Quilava was strongly evicted right behind Poliwhirl...

**...CRACK**

That was the tree that, already weakened by the now hot flames around it, made an worrying sound at the violent impact of Quilava's medium frame.

"Finish this with hydro pump."

"We're doomed!" Adrian cried in despair.

It would have been a quick conclusion. The water-typed Pokemon, launching his most powerful attack on a type-disadvantaged and motionless target should have been the safe answer to who was going to win this fight. Only no one took into account their surroundings as a key element to victory. That was a fatal mistake. The tree suddenly gave out after the wrecking shock to his weakened core. It broke down, almost completely split in two. The upper part fell right onto Poliwhirl that was still focused on executing the demanding attack. It didn't get the chance to avoid impact.

**BAM**

Misty was mortified. She hadn't seen it coming; she had been a bit careless ever since she had met the two opposing trainers. The tree that she had quickly come to know as a haven betrayed her in the least expected way. She tried to get a sight of Poliwhirl to see if he was okay. She didn't care anymore about the outcome of the fight.

Her worries were reassured when an about-to-collapsed familiar blue biped managed to cast aside the remains of the ruined tree over him. The valiant stare it was trying to give out was only to be welcomed with a slash attack as Quilava made full use of its opportunity. Poliwhirl fainted.

"I-I lost…" Misty declared. Sunbeams were aggressively attacking her fair skin now that the tree couldn't protect her anymore, in any way. She kneeled down in defeat, returning her Pokemon in its Pokeball.

"Then you won't mind us taking these."

It had taken them a moment to react to the outcome of the battle. Frankly, both trainers were still shocked they had somehow won. The girl was the quickest to recover as she couldn't wait to make a defeated Misty feel worse. She didn't add anything, she didn't have to. Also, she couldn't. Neither could Adrian. They barely had come out victorious of this battle. They knew they had to thank their luck. Even though it was a factor in battle, it wasn't the most satisfying thing to a victory. They left without further words.

* * *

Gary had heard a loud noise coming from where he had last seen Misty. He paid close attention to any sharp sound that could end up to be her voice indicating she was in need of assistance. When he couldn't identify any, he left the matter untouched. He was still traumatized by their latest interaction. He had been confused by her request and, well, had been too tired of constantly having to figure her out. Really, he couldn't be blamed for blindly following directions. But he was smarter than this; he should have known she was being sarcastic. He was in no hurry to confront her any time soon. He had to clear up his mind first.

"She'd probably kill me if I approach her without her consent," Gary explained to his faithful follower, scratching Arcanine's right ear at the same time. It made it moan in pleasure but it still looked skeptical. "But you're right. We should get a move on, find you some Pokemon to battle," he agreed with his friend.

In the past,some people had mistakenly believed that he was making up most of his conversation with his furry friend but he knew better. Understanding Arcanine or any of his Pokemon had taken awhile but was an easy task. You just needed to build a rapport through trust and time. They were now following a trail back to Misty's whereabouts.

"You know, number two is nothing to be ashamed of."

He barely wasted a moment to tease upon coming to the sight of her. No chance that he'd give her the satisfaction of knowing she had been successful in momentarily intimidating him. He would appeared his usual cool and unfazed self despite the incident. A selective memory always helped in such cases.

He was wondering how she'd react though. She was hard to predict which made interactions with her exciting. Was she going to massacre his eardrums again? Or would verbal abuse not be enough so she'd try to rip him to pieces? He was one to enjoy flirting with danger.

_"Not with her,"_ he scolded himself. He was alerted when no reaction came out of her. "Back to not speaking to me?"

"I wish." Her voice seemed about to crack at any moment from now. Something wasn't quite normal. "I..." She made eye-contact with him. He recognized the girl he had first seen under a tree two days ago. She lowered her eyes, not able to withstand his. "Turns out, I-I wasn't worth being lied to."

Her breaking down or degrading her worth wasn't something he had anticipated as a reply. Truly unpredictable, she was. He was as much surprised by her unexpected reaction than by his not using it as ammunition for an ego take-down. In a really unenthusiastic and monotone voice, she summarized to him the battle she had just lost, showing off a now empty belt.

"I messed up, I'm dead! I am a complete waste of time. You should be mad or laughing your ass off right now! Ash or my sisters probably would."

"The dead sure speaks loud."

Gary offered her a weak smile but resentful tears started to roll down Misty's cheeks. Gary shot her a pleading look; Crying girls weren't his cup of tea. He had no desire to deal with them. If a quick visit to the jewelry store couldn't spare him such a fate, then he was just gone like the wind. His broad shoulders were only supposed to be wet after a good swim or some dumbbells weight lifting session. He dreaded at the thought of having to comfort her. Maybe fleeing now would help. After all, she hated his guts. What better idea than that to make her feel better?

"Ar?" His Pokemon was also at a loss at what to do. Sighing, Gary sat down next to the depressed girl, knowing that although not his preferred, it was his best option.

"Waterflower, you lost all of your stars in the first afternoon of the competition," he stated, fidgeting in discomfort before continuing, "This whole incident could have been avoided if you had come and get me. Also, it was pretty reckless to agree to a two-versus-one fight. You know that?"

Gary averted his eyes from her face. He had a feeling that his teammate was as uneasy as he was about the presence of tears. Especially with it being the second time around. There was little room for mistakes; he'd say one wrong thing and the damage would be irreparable. Misty weakly glared at him, she was already expecting him to rub it in. Though for one moment, in her tone earlier on, he thought he had detected hopefulness for some emotional support. Well, she could really use whatever ounce of mercy he had in him now.

"Spare me, Oak."

"You just told me about your fight and I know you lost," he added, ignoring her exasperated look when he did, "It's just that, for a moment, I couldn't figure out where the tale was going, how come you were so devastated when clearly you had won the battle." He was now looking at her, gauging her reaction. "The tree; no one had seen that one coming... or falling huh?"

"Shut up."

He barely managed to suppress the laughter threatening to come out at her unconvincing hostility. She was obviously down, so that facade was just pathetic. His smirk was fully turned on, locked on its prey. Again, he could feel her mental hex.

"It's just... it's one thing to believe someone could overcome such bad odds in a Pokemon battle. It's another to not even be surprised when you think they did. You're an outstanding trainer, that loss doesn't change that."

His smirk faded...into a smile.

"Although, you seriously need to take part in some anger management program. Here. One is to save your ass, the other...you know what it's for."

He took out two stars from his own belt and handed them to her. At first, she didn't react to the gesture so he had to shove the tokens onto her, granting her a impatient look implying to hurry before he changed his mind. When she finally accepted them, she was still staring at him as if he was up to no good and couldn't be trusted. Apparently, she was targeted by a swarm of thoughts that seemed to have paralyzed her. The living statue in front of him was at a loss for words... Only for a brief moment: words were not something Misty would run out of anytime soon.

"So that makes you genuinely sorry for lying. And getting caught."

"For lying... and getting caught," he agreed, retrieving his signature expression. Misty was about to reply when a loud noise interrupted her.

**Hmm ! Hmm !**

"Sorry to interrupt." Gary and Misty turn around to look at the rude, slightly obese man who had talked. He didn't really look sorry at all. "Some youngsters took two stars away from us."

"What does this have to do with us?"

"I was just nice enough to give you an introduction. I was obviously challenging you guys to a fight. Of course, you can't say no. I just love the rules."

* * *

**End of chapter **

_Decided to separate the chaps another way loll hope it works oh yeah SaFaRi is to devide the 2 groups and –SF- just to divide a certain time period. There was at least 2 big mistakes in this chap… I changed my mind from collar to belt… and the move description aren't the right one but I don't have the games (always used to borrow my friend's :P) so sorry… for that and the cliffie LOL! Will they __win? We'll see in the next chapter! I'm not saying! Anything can happen! I know this chapter is longer than the previous one but im not sure if the next will be as long._

_C ya!_

_~michelicious_


	8. Third Time's a Charm

_Will they win? Will they lose? Only one way to find out! I wont tell you what it is since you know it! ENJOY!_

* * *

**Chapter 7 – Third Time's the Charm**

* * *

"So are you ready yet?" said the impatient glasses lady. She had joined the party shortly after the man had made his intentions clear.

Meanwhile, Misty and Gary were arguing about where and in which bag were the potions put under the supervision of Arcanine that was just puzzled at their interactions. Misty's Pokemon was hurt, it could understand that. What it couldn't was its master's uncharacteristic behavior. Ever since the strange reconciliation with his female sidekick he showed sides to him it had never or rarely witnessed before. From calm to frustrated, warm to cold, relaxed to stressed, Gary had been all of these in the little half an hour that had passed. Now, the very respected Gary Oak was ludicrously fighting with a girl over some human products like a bunch of Growlithe fed with chocolate. That had to be a first. It had expected them to show affection to each other in common human manners with a hug or even a kiss, not so long ago. This was definitely out of the window of possibilities now.

"I got this," Gary assured Misty.

They suddenly had both gotten their hands on the Great Potion. Though most would have expected that to put a halt to the fighting, it made it literal. Arcanine was in over its head. They had argued, complained, cried, apologized and comforted one another but now it was back to arguing with a little wrestling bonus! Who knew what they were fighting about? The potion appeared to be just an excuse. Trained as it was it didn't move and remained steady, waiting for orders from its trainer.

"Give it to me! Poliwhirl's my pokemon!"

"Why do you even need it so much in the first place? Now of all time?"

"Obviously to fight this guy," Misty exclaimed. "And he wants to fight me too. So let go!"

"Actually, I really don't m-..."

"That's what I thought." The outsider was being completely ignored. "You don't have to prove yourself. Arcanine and I should be fighting this one. Anyway, your Pokemon is in no state to battle."

"Thus the potion, Oak." She rolled her eyes. "Just hand it already. Your Pokemon carried our stuff all morning. It's in no better state."

"That was barely a warm up to him. He can handle it. Unconscious beats tired any day."

"WOULD YOU JUST START THE DAMN BATTLE ALREADY?" The lady, whom you could tell just by the face wasn't the kind to appreciate children or fun or anything really, finally caught their attention and ended their argument once and for all. "Stop wasting our time, we are battling you both." Gary let go of his grasp on the potion, giving a chance to Misty to finally heal her Pokemon.

"A two-versus-two battle." Gary's tone held disappointment.

Gary wasn't really one to enjoy teamwork. He was one to rely on his own strength. That side of him had always paid off. Even though this was a team competition, he would have preferred to avoid teamwork whenever possible.

"Yeah, duh. How about we wage four stars. That's the amount we need to finally pass the gate."

"The gate?"

"Sorry, we don't have four stars. Three will have to do." Misty didn't wait for a reply. "Poliwhirl, you're feeling better right? Let's do it!"

"I will act as if Arcanine and I are included in that little pep talk. Go team," Gary said sarcastically.

"Chicorita, go!"

"Voltorb!"

"Double-advantage on you Misty. Another chance for you to shine," he teased her.

"I doubt it. See, we have a great combination! Electricity has almost no effect on Chicorita while Grass attacks only deal normal damage to Voltorb! Electricity is also good against Chicorita's weakness; flying type. Grass is good versus ground and rock ones. Also..." The strict-looking woman was obviously pleased to show off her knowledge.

"Still, you lost your last battle," Misty rudely cut her off. She hated lectures. Uneasy, the two opposing trainers stared menacingly at her. No comeback were launched back though they really seemed to be looking for one.

"Whatever," finally expressed the man. Gary smiled at how weak this was.

"Arcanine, use Ember."

A hot stray of fire was launched from the canine's mouth.

"Wait, who said we were done talking?" Their sight-challenged opponent panicked. Her Chicorita, due to its speed, dodged the attack without any order. But surprisingly, the attack followed another pattern: Chicorita hadn't been its target. Voltorb was hit and turned out to be burned by the attack.

"These guys lack creativity. They're no good at anticipating or improvising in unexpected situation." He smirked. "Like a fire attack not directed to the logical type-disadvantaged choice."

Although his explanation was impressive, Misty was more amazed at Gary's and Arcanine's understanding of each other. Gary hadn't even verbally indicated who was the target of attack and his Pokemon had followed his lead perfectly. It just proved to show that Gary Oak wasn't all talk.

"You think that makes us weak? Chicorita, use vinewhip!"

"Chi!" To Gary's surprise Chicorita didn't attack Poliwhirl like he had expected it to. Or any Pokemon for that matter. What was he up to with his vines out?

"Bubblebeam!" Gary heard his partner ordered. He looked back at his Pokemon just in time to see Voltorb been thrown away by a powerful water attack. Voltorb was tossed next to Chicorita.

"Damn it!" murmured the man.

"Didn't you hear me earlier? I'll be fine. Stop worrying uselessly about me," Misty surprised him.

He was uncomfortable with teamwork so much that he had trouble fully trusting anyone. After all, why run the risk of being let down? Apparently, she had read him like an open book and guessed his reticence to teamwork and his urge to cover for her.

"Besides, our Pokemon levels are way higher than theirs," she also pointed out.

"Damn Johnie! Did you see how powerful their attacks were! These are supposed to be weak basic elemental attacks. How come they're so strong?"

"Voltorb, use Thunder Wave on Arcanine!" Johnie was a bit anxious too but kept his wits. This was rewarded with a paralyzed Arcanine.

"Arcanine, no more game. Flamethrower on Chicorita!" Even with the revelation of their opponent's weakness, Gary wasn't just about to underestimate them.

"No!" Yelled its master upon hearing his command. The attack was about to hit Chicorita and certainly put her K.O. but at the last minute something pushed her out of the way. It was Voltorb that took the fall instead. "Johnie?" she looked at him

"We can't lose… I know it's dirty but too bad… Do it Jeanne!" She nodded.

"Chicorita, sleeping power!" Gary was about to dismiss the attack as another futile attempt to delay the set outcome to the battle but the spores the Pokemon spread were too much in quantity to be just an innocent attack. Reminiscing on Johnie's last words, it didn't take long before he understood their full meaning. He had to quickly counter their sabotage.

"Arcanine, burn it!"

"Ar..." It didn't move.

"It's…paralyzed," Misty muttered. Everything went black.

* * *

The last thing Gary could remember was the battle, the sleep powder attack… Misty! He quickly got up, looking for any trace of his partner. Arcanine was next to him, motionless. He either was still asleep or paralyzed, that Gary didn't know. He looked back to his other side to see a human form lying on the ground. Next to it was another form, blue and smaller. That had to be Misty and her Pokemon. Gary went up to her and gently shook her in order to wake her up.

"Hey! Wake up." Misty softly moaned. She was probably still too drowsy to use words. Awareness was only starting to show in her eyes. Progressively, light didn't seem to bother them as much. She could probably already make out his face and identity. "Are you alright?"

"Gary?" The helplessness in her voice joined with her sudden use of his first name made his heart race. He knew his heart rate wouldn't settle down when she buried her face in his chest, yearning for protection. "I'm glad you're here."

Gary was slightly taken aback by this behavior; it wasn't like her usual self at all. He didn't mind it though. Quite at the contrary. Misty should have been slightly more feminine sooner in his opinion.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything, Misty." He heard himself say. Who was this babbling idiot? Maybe she was better off her usual tomboyish self in the end. He forgot about his thoughts and paid closer attention to the girl in his arms, curious to what she would ask of him. The girly evil he had come to know might still be lurking in the corner.

"Wake up!"

A familiar voice startled him. It seemed to came from the...outside? A not-gentle-at-all shake soon followed. Gary opened his eyes, for real this time. He blinked as he noticed that it was Misty that was trying to wake him up. His eyes wandered to Arcanine's concerned expression. Misty's Poliwhirl was eating some snacks. "Are you alright sleepy head?"

"Misty?" She looked at him kind of funny. "I'm glad you're here."

"Did you knock your head on something? Arcanine, does he look okay to you?"

"What is it? I can't be glad to see you?" This was definitely the real world where them being friendly was still unheard of.

"I just didn't know we were on first name basis now, monkey kisser." She surprised him with the inside joke. He grinned. All of them were not great, in fact he had a lot of trouble just thinking of a single one that wasn't too bad, but he was getting attached to his memories with her. "But enough with the monkey business. We have a situation." She gestured to his belt.

"I hope this isn't you asking me to take out my pants again." She rolled her eyes as she waited for him to finally look down at his belt. The slots that should have contained his star tokens were empty. "Tell me they didn't steal yours too..." He knew better.

"Would love to but you know where I stand about lying." She got up and tried to retrieve something in their belongings. Gary then noticed she had already hitched up Arcanine with their stuff. "I'm trying to find a way to contact a Safarian without forfeiting. If we explain the situation, surely they can help. They sure are taking their sweet time to come and get 'dead' participants."

"I don't think we're 'dead'." Gary also got up. Misty mindlessly offered him a smile. One you reserve for delusional naive people. The same smile you give kids talking about Santa Claus. "Yet," he added. This time he had managed to, at least, gain her attention. "How do you think they know when one is dead?"

"I suppose the belt gives out a signal as soon as there's no star token left," Misty replied matter-of-factly, not too sure where he was going with this. After all, he was the scientist.

"Then how come you weren't dead earlier today?" He watched as he knew she was about to retort that his star tokens saved her like it was the most logical thing in the world. He found it amusing when she opened her mouth and paused. Clearly, she had understood something was wrong with her answer. "It wouldn't make sense for them to 'kill' us off as soon as there isn't any star left in our belt holes. What if you're taking out all of your stars just for fun?"

"What's your point?"

"Like you said the belt probably gives out some kind of signal. I just think it's timed, not instant."

"I enjoy your explanations, Gary. I even agree with them even though I don't quite like their meaning: You're basically saying the Safarians will take their sweet time to come and find us." He quickly ignored how natural his name had felt coming out of her mouth when he spotted how annoyed she was. "Who knows if they'll even believe us if it takes too long and the culprits get away."

"How about we don't stick around to find out?"

He had a mischievous smile on. Catching on with his train of thoughts, she also bore a wicked curve upon her lips.

* * *

"There's smoke over there, it's faint though."

As they arrived to the designated area, Gary saw the fire. Trees hadn't been much help with how they obstructed the view to the stray of smoke. That was why he had missed it at first. Good thing Misty spotted it. Random camping equipment were still in the open, this camp was still in use. Gary supposed the owners were still close by. The plan was simple: Battle the nearest trainer and win at least 2 stars to save their asses. They would have to trick their opponents into thinking they still had their tokens. Strangely, Misty had stated that this wouldn't really be lying, just omitting to correct them if they jumped to their own conclusions. She was so flexible when it came to morality.

There were suspicious movements in the tent. He called out to anyone who might have been there, not willing to waste a single moment. Two teenagers about their age came out the tent. They seemed quite displeased with the outsiders and their hair was pretty much all over their face. Undoubtedly, a making-out session had been disturbed. The guy, a somewhat good-looking lad, was wearing a designer pair of jeans. A white shirt was finding its proper way back onto his body. The girl, shameless about having been caught in such a compromising situation, was wearing black pants and a cute pink tank top.

"What do you want?" Gary noticed that the girl had discreetly winked at him.

"Isn't it obvious?" Misty replied. "We need stars to pass up a gate. We lost some stars to some losers. You have to accept our challenge."

"Rude interruption," the white-tee guy commented. "Fine. We'll teach you some good manners." He showed Misty and Gary a place a bit more adequate for the fight than their camp and motioned for them to go before them. "Ladies first." By the way he looked at Gary, an insult was implied.

"Four stars at stake," Misty proposed when they got far enough.

"I don't really care. I just want to use this new baby I caught!"

The guy took out a Safariball and kissed its top with arrogance. His partner was rather quiet, eying Gary. Once again, he had become someone's piece of meat. Gary unpacked Arcanine and brushed its fur with his hands to show appreciation.

"Ready, buddy?"

"That Pokemon spent the entire day carrying you. Haven't you caught anything yet?" Did this guy feel threatened by him? His taunting was a bit excessive.

"Your partner's eye, apparently," Gary returned the girl's wink, in the end.

"Go Ivysaur!" She threw her Pokeball before her partner could complain about the exchange.

"Poliwhirl, go!"

"Rhyhorn! I choose you." The second most arrogant trainer exclaimed while Arcanine joined all the other Pokemon.

"Type advantage? Again?" Misty whispered for only Gary to hear. She didn't seem the least bit bothered by it though. He could detect the slightest hint of thrill in her tone. "We have to end this quickly. Up for the challenge? " She didn't wait for a reply. "Poliwhirl, Water Gun on Rhyhorn!"

None of them saw what happened next coming. Ivysaur used its leaf not to only stop the water from wetting Rhyhorn but to also partly launched it back on Arcanine. They might have slightly taken their opponent lightly.

"Rhyhorn, use rock throw!"

Rhyhorn threw rocks in both Arcanine's and Poliwhirl's directions. Arcanine easily dodge. Poliwhirl wasn't so lucky.

"Ivysaur, razor leaf!"

"Arcani-" Gary was cut by the boy who had seemed to hate his guts at first sight.

"Rhyhorn, mega punch on Arcanine!"

Arcanine hadn't had the time to fire his attack to protect Poliwhirl that took the razor leaf straight on. Things weren't looking good for them as Poliwhirl was barely managing standing up. Already slow, he couldn't run at all in his condition. To protect him from further grass attacks, Misty asked of Poliwhirl to stand by Arcanine.

"Get him on your back," Gary commanded his Pokemon.

Misty had probably wanted him to do that. At the sight of this profitable collaboration, both opponents relaunched their previous attacks. Quickly, Arcanine grabbed Poliwhirl and threw him on his back. He then proceeded to burn down the razor leaf attack and dodged the rocks sent by Rhyhorn.

"Poliwhirl, use Water Gun again." Ivysaur once again protected Rhyhorn from fatal water damage though this time she didn't manage to use the water as a counter. Arcanine landed from his jump.

"Two and even four can play this game. On Rhyhorn, Ivysaur!" Even though the order wasn't from its original trainer Ivysaur still obeyed.

"Arcanine, flamethrower!" Rhyhorn, with a provocative smile, used one of its arm, protecting Ivysaur against the ineffective attack.

"Bubblebeam, Poliwhirl!"

"Rhyhorn, use mud slap!"

The mud was powerful enough to bust most of all the bubbles without letting one touch Rhyhorn or Ivysaur. Worst part was that it served both to a defensive and an offensive end. Arcanine was quick enough to dodge it but Misty and Gary had to admit, the arrogant trainer was a pretty good one and his partner knew how to fight alongside him.

"It's way too fast! It doesn't even look tired! rock throw!" The trainer was also reluctant in acknowledging that his opponents were fierce ones.

"Ivysaur, try to take Poliwhirl out of Arcanine's back with vinewhip!" Already dodging for the rock throw, Arcanine didn't get to burn the Pokemon's spawn. He couldn't even dodge as it was under the full control of Ivysaur.

"Poliwhirl, listen to me. Jump over and use bubblebeam then bubble."

Fortunately, this time both attacks hit home: After attacking both target were exposed and defenseless. Rhyhorn didn't faint. However, it lowered both their speed and defense. Ivysaur's vinewhip also made contact. Poliwhirl lost balance and crashed. In its fall, dirt was raised making Poliwhirl's condition unclear to everyone.

"Arcanine, Ember!" The vine caught on fire and acted as a conductor that led the fire to Ivysaur. It suffered greatly.

"Jake, cover for me!" Jake's partner was starting to feel stressed about the issue and chose a more aggressive, if possible, pattern. "Ivysaur, solarbeam!" Ivysaur was now gathering solar beams and preparing its attack that wouldn't be ready before a certain amount of time. The dust had vanished. Poliwhirl, though badly hurt, was still standing. Misty was thoughtful.

"Launch a water attack!" Gary instructed Misty, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Oh no you don't, Magnitude!"

This attack usually hit every Pokemon aside from the user in the same way. However, with Ivysaur still being on Rhyhorn's head, it was spared. Jake couldn't help but impress Gary with his good strategic mind. Although it didn't make him any more likeable, Gary had to give him some credit.

"Help Poliwhirl!" Arcanine had just the time to grab Poliwhirl once again and jumped before the impact. When it landed, the ground was still in motion which hurt it. It still had managed to avoid most of the attack and also Poliwhirl was unharmed. No time to relax though, Ivysaur had just finished charging solar energy.

"Ivysaur!" A threatening solarbeam was launched at the duo.

"Arcanine move!" However, Gary knew that it wouldn't escape the whole attack, especially with the extra weight. Arcanine would be alright, though at the very least dazzled. Poliwhirl, on the other hand, was done for. But he had no alternate idea than this pointless order.

"Poliwhirl, get off and use Hydro Pump! Aim high!"

"Use Magnitude again."

Rocks rose just in front of Rhyhorn. They weren't high but just enough to block or deviate the water attack if directed at Rhyhorn. The sudden lift of weight helped Arcanine fully escape the solarbeam. Luckily, the magnitude, always random in strength, was weak. Poliwhirl, after throwing its attack was a motionless target. The solarbeam stroke and its light temporary blinded everyone. As they were all recovering from the momentary blindness, after a moment Poliwhirl was spotted, unconscious. Another frame caught their eye; Ivysaur's. It also was unconscious.

"Misdirection...So the attack wasn't directed to Rhyhorn," Gary pondered out loud. "You kind of scared me there."

"If we lose, it's all on you," Misty dismissed his comment. Both girls returned their pokemon bitterly. It was now a men battle.

"So when we win, the credit goes all to me," Gary confidently mused, purposely irritating Misty. "Arcanine, fire spin!" A fire circled Rhyhorn, the flames were high and hot. Rhyhorn was looking around, disorientated. Jake also couldn't figure out Arcanine's position.

"Think you can confused us just because we don't know where you are? Magnitude!" This time, the attack seemed powerful enough to knock out Arcanine.

"Arcanine, like we practiced!"

The earthquake took out the flames and hit Arcanine. Whatever it was that Gary had asked of him, he didn't manage to do it on time. Jake let escape a victorious as he was now about to grasp victory. Even in the unlikely chance that Arcanine hadn't fainted, it was no better than done for. An image of a knocked out Arcanine was visible. Jake burst out in a nervous laugh that greatly helped his nerves. He had been starting to doubt his chances as Gary and Misty had turned out to be a serious threat. He went to hug his partner in celebration, also looking for the perfect words to nag Gary with.

Arcanine disappeared.

"An illusion?" Jake, incredulous, asked out loud.

"A substitute," Gary corrected him.

In a panicked state, he looked around recklessly for any clue to the real Arcanine's whereabouts. Left? Right? Had he jumped? Just then, Arcanine came out…from underneath Rhyhorn's feet.

"He used dig."

Misty looked impressed when she saw Arcanine quickly execute the directive Gary had ordered him. The attack had been perfect; A defensive offense as the magnitude attack couldn't hit Arcanine underground. Rhyhorn fainted. Jake swore loudly before tossing at Gary two stars from his belt. His girlfriend also gave Misty two stars. They quickly left the scene after Jake returned his pokemon. They probably were no longer in the mood to resume their earlier activities. Gary turned to face Misty.

"So in the end you believed in me huh?"

"I just felt lucky."

They could finally have room to breathe as they narrowly had just escaped an early retirement from the game. Misty sighed in relief while Gary silently congratulated her with a smile. There is, however, one good thing about hardships; they bring people together.

* * *

**End of chapter **

_Hey, the second day ended! I know there weren't any trace of Ash or May in this chap except for the mention of Ash's name once… but sorry it was already long like that…! Don't worry advanshipper, Ash and May will also have chapters to themselves… hum, any questions? I can answer everything about this fic… I think. Sorry for the late update and huh thanks for reading. The next update may be longer I believe as I have June exams and to write other chapters of other fics. Gary's and Misty's relationship is getting steadier as for Ash's and May's part… big surprises MAY arrive. I was very tired when I wrote it so sorry for the mistakes, point them out and ill correct them later. _

_Thanks again,_

_C ya!_

**~michelicious**

**PRESENT ME:  
I just realized how similar to one of Naruto battle this was, I assure you I wrote this ages ago when my creativity was still at its peak lol. And like always, all comments in italic were made by my 13-years old self, please ignore them I just keep them as a reminder. Thanks for reading and really sorry for the long wait. Many thanks to the latest reviews I received, they were heard and got me out whatever hole I was crawled in. =)**


	9. Rat Infiltration

_Okay I had to update sooner than planned BECAUSE of a certain someone who updated too quickly! This sucks… I have so much work. I blame school for the lack of excitement and time that I have. Here's a shorter chapter. Neways enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 8 – Rat Infiltration**

* * *

"You guys are finally here!"

The silhouette was small and strange especially in the dark. The moon was still shining brightly soon about to leave its place to the sun. For the moment being, the last shades of the night was still winning against the upcoming morning lights. As if these few words muttered were a magic spell, two other figures appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"I can't believe you made me wait this long! I thought you were supposed to be in the first bus?" The same annoying raspy voice exclaimed.

"Also thought we would but some incompetent tested us pretending we might not be able to survive in the wild." A feminine voice was outraged at the memory. "We had to use a bunch of disguises until we finally passed it. By then, the first bus was already full."

"Such a waste of time." The second person sighed.

"Shut up, we could have passed the test the first time around if you had been useful. "

"Sorry Jesse but Cacnea was like all over me…again!"

"James! You should learn to control your Pokemon properly!"

"Let's forget about it" The feline figure sweat dropped "We're here to capture rare Pokemon and to get our hands on the Treasure!"

"We know Meowth…" Both James and Jessie tried to make it understand. Nevertheless, it continued his explanation.

"Just imagine the boss' day when one day while bored he exclaims: 'I want to build myself a Pokemon circus'." As usual, Meowth's mimicked a exaggerated voice for its boss. "Then we come in and send him all the rare pokemon we'd have found so that he can make his circus! Just imagine his reaction: 'I'll have to thank Meowth and his friends for this magnificent present, a promotion should do the trick'." Meowth daydreamed in the late night.

"You already told us this a hundred times, Meowth!" Jessie retorted. Their ruckus was startling the peaceful nocturnal beasts. "The thing you don't know is that we've spotted the twerps in the hotel!" She was getting more and more excited with this piece of information.

"Wait, that could only mean one thing!"

"That Pikachu…"

"…Is here!" They completed each other.

"Wobbufet!"

"How come it's here?" Jessie glared at Meowth after the Pokemon flashy entrance.

"Calm down Jessie. I just needed a Pokemon to defend myself in the wild."

"What don't you get in the sentence 'YOU ARE A POKEMON'?"

"Even you guys failed the surviving in the wild test." Meowth talked back. "And unlike you, I couldn't just retake it."

"At least we have a two more Pokemon advantage." James tried to mediate between the two sides. They left to hide and formulate plots until more trainers would walk by.

* * *

The sun was rising, killing at the same time all the shadows its absence had produced. The morning birds were singing its return to Earth while wild Pokemon were starting their early routines. Surprisingly, for one of the rare times in his life Ash was up before the whole scenario and it was his own decision. He groaned as he was in an irritable mood due to his notion of malnutrition; he had barely eaten anything the previous day and today's breakfast had been light. Just surviving was starting to be an issue. Ash started to summon a feet in front of the other repeatedly in a vague attempt to walk. May was also up but feeling marvelous. She had always been a morning person. If it wasn't for Ash's acute sensibility to his hunger, her good mood would have been contagious.

"How long until we eat?" Ash questioned.

"We still have an hour to go before eleven o'clock. You were the one who suggested traveling this early, you know?" She added to his defeated look.

"Mom kept on saying how breakfast is the most important meal of the day." He sighed. "I thought I would have been alright as long as I'd have gotten it."

Although he was complaining, Ash was pretty satisfied with their progress. Yesterday, they had collected a fair amount of star tokens; they now had 12 stars. They had discussed two battles. In the first, they had agreed on a stake of 2 stars, playing it safe. After winning, they had been a little bit more daring in the second battle with a risky bet of 4 star tokens. However, Ash had been slightly disappointed: All of their opponents hadn't been all that great. He even had to persuade one of the trainers not to ask for a rematch as their levels were far too apart which was totally out of character for him.

They were in a different area than yesterday according to their Safaridex. They had passed through a 10-stars gate to come across a less visited region. Their digital map had been quite useful to date. Thanks to it, they had learned that the region they had been previously in was called 'Hall'. Now they were in 'Plains'. They had tried to look up more information about all the different regions but they came to realize that their digital map was incomplete. The only information they could extract from their current Safaridex about them was that the numbers of star needed to gain access to a certain region also reflected its level of difficulty but if you thought about it, it was a little bit obvious. Difficult area would be poor of trainers but rich of dangerous and rare Pokemon while more accessible areas would be filled with trainers and less impressive Pokemon. This also meant that there was more than one route. This could really slim down the chances of an encounter with Ash and Gary until later stages of the Safari Quest.

* * *

"Man, I'm so glad we finally stopped to eat. Thanks for the meal, May! It was really good!" Ash complimented, back with his usual cheerful attitude now that his primitive needs were satisfied. May's cooking had been surprisingly tasty. Not that he thought she wouldn't be a good cook. It was just hard for him to imagine enjoying any cooking other than Brock's or his mother's: They were master chiefs. For the first time, he wondered how Misty's would be like.

"You're welcome. I'm just glad that you appreciate my cooking." May blushed at the compliment. "It's nowhere near Brock's though."

Before he could find another topic to continue the conversation, something caught Ash's attention in a near distance. It seemed to be some kind of plant yet it had some Pokemon characteristics. The green-like color and jello-ish aspect of the intruder couldn't be associated with anything Ash had known so far. Intrigued, Ash approached the weird vision. To his surprise, it jumped forward to either attack or escape which made Ash land on his butt. May took out the Safaridex to try to identify the foe. The only description was 'unknown species'.

"The Safaridex doesn't know what it is. Be careful, Ash!"

"It might be a new specie Pr. Oak would be happy about." He took out a Pokeball. "Swellow, go!" The giant blue and red colored bird appeared and made a powerful cry. "Okay, let's start with a gust attack" Swellow obeyed. The bizarre form reacted to the attack but not as much as would a grass type. The thing quickly recovered and seemed to charge at Ash's Pokemon, frightening it. Swellow quickly recovered from its stupefaction when it realized it had suffered no damage.

"Use quick attack" Swellow flew high and gathered speed as it launched itself on its enemy at neck-breaking speed. The target was hit but it leaked no trace of fatigue or pain. "_Now how am I going to know when to throw the safariball, __assuming __it's even catchable?" _Ash thought. "Whatever it is, it's strong." He was getting excited.

"Think you need help with this one?" May offered.

"Swellow and I are good, thanks. Use another quick attack, buddy." Swellow attacked a second time. The state of the unknown species still couldn't be read. "I won't be able to catch it if I knock it unconscious..." May was nervously eying Ash. She didn't have any suggestion that could help Ash and felt extremely useless. "Use tackle." The auburn-haired girl crossed her fingers, praying that this weaker attack wouldn't knock whatever Ash was fighting unconscious.

"You can do it, Ash!" She supported him. Ash shot her a confident smile.

"It's just a matter of time. Swellow, sand attack!" A vast spray of sand hit the form in no particular place as it didn't have any visible eye. May couldn't help but be impressed with Ash's ingenuity: He was weakening the Pokemon without dealing damage. When it came to battling, Ash really had good instincts. "Here goes nothing!" Ash threw a Safariball to his foe and waited. The ball was shaking for a few moments, Ash prayed it would work. Whatever deity he called upon, it was on his side; the shaking stopped. May let out a relieved cheer as the Pokemon was caught. Ash grabbed the Safariball but was perturbed in his victory when a voice came down from above.

"Hey you!" A Pidgeott landed on the ground and two trainers hopped off from him. "Have you seen a Ditto?" A girl asked, now on her feet. Her friend was right following, right behind.

"So that was a Ditto." Ash looked curiously at his Safariball.

"You caught it?" Slowly tension was rising. "It was a rather high-leveled Ditto and quite intelligent too. We were about to catch it when it escaped changing into a Pidgey. We've been looking for it for awhile now, it probably hid himself in the grass," her mate explained. He passed a hand through his blonde hair, a bit uneasy about what he was going to say next. "Surely you wouldn't mind handing that Safariball to us? We were the one after it."

"We were the one to tire it out." The girl vigorously added. May saw signs of fatigue on her face. They must have chased the Pokemon all morning. She waved an apologetic hand.

"That sucks." Ash was contemplating his prized new possession. "I'm sorry. Surely you'd understand if I say no? I caught it fair and square." Although he could sympathize with the newcomers, they only made the Pokemon more desirable. It was his first catch in the contest. Their looks weren't as defeated as he thought they would be. They probably had anticipated the answer.

"It will be a Pokemon battle then," the guy stated. "Could you wager Ditto? I, on the other hand, would offer 3 tokens and some precious map data if you agree."

At the mention of data, Ash's interest peaked. He knew he had to accept the challenge, a rule he really liked, but he still had control over what to wager in battle. He looked over to May to try and gauge what she thought of the idea.

"I think an one-on-one would be the fairest way to determine Ditto's owner. I'm Ryan by the way." The trainer suggested when he saw Ash look at his friend before introducing himself.

"I think that's fair." May answered Ash's previous glance.

"Okay, let's do this!" Swellow flew down to be next to his trainer.

"Wait! I didn't agree to this." Ryan's partner was visibly annoyed to have been ignored all this time.

"Sophia, what is it?"

"I also want to battle! I've also been chasing down with you Ditto. Don't I get a say in this? Don't look at me like this. He's got type-advantage. I don't want to watch you lose an unfair battle."

"It's okay, I'll use Ditto." Ash cut Ryan before he could argue with his partner. "If I win like this, that would further prove I'm the one worthy of being its trainer right?" When they looked at him as if he had suggested the stupidest idea ever, Ash had to defend his point. "It's okay, I brought potions with me. I'll fully heal Ditto before battling. If that's okay with you, May?" The usually cheerful girl had an apprehensive look but couldn't turn down Ash's idea: She knew he had been eager for a real challenge since yesterday.

"I guess... If you insist." Ryan wasn't too pleased with this outcome but he knew it was the only way Sophia would let him battle on his own. Ash released Ditto from its Safariball. Still the same as in its first appearance, it changed back to normal. Now that it was back to its original and more readable self, it was easier to make out that it was tired. Ash sprayed the medication on Ditto. Instantly, its glow looked healthier.

"Hey buddy, let's get along." Ash warmly welcomed it. Ryan also released his Pokemon in the meantime. It was an Ivysaur, bigger and more imposing than its average. One glance at the Pokemon and you could tell it was strong. Ash distanced himself from Ditto. In a quick nod, he motioned to Ryan that he was ready to debut the battle.

"Ivysaur, tackle!"

"Ditto, also use tackle!" Ditto, however, stood there motionless as it got hit. "What's wrong?"

"Ash, the only move Ditto can use is transform" May answered him after consulting the Safaridex. Ash applied this new knowledge and soon after a copy of Ivysaur replaced Ditto.

"That's your smartest move to date." The girl who had been called Sophia mused. "Not quite clever are you?"

"Ivysaur, use double-edge"

"Ditto, double-edge." Ash mimicked as he wasn't really sure of his move options. The two Pokemon powerfully charged on each other before falling back. They both received a similar recoil. Overall, they probably took about the same amount of damage.

"Ivysaur, use razor leaf!"

"Ditto, razor leaf!" Ash copied. Both attacks canceled each other out. Ryan looked a bit annoyed.

"Ivysaur, vinewhip"

"Ditto, also use vinewhip!" Okay, this was getting ridiculous. The two pokemon engaged in a whipping contest that looked anything but glorious. In fact, the exchange looked more like a cat-fight than anything else. Ryan was definitely getting impatient.

"Use vinewhip again to tickle Ditto." Sophia suggested to Ryan who was getting bored out of his mind with this fight. She had a malicious smile. He issued the order, not really caring to know what she had in mind. Ivysaur awkwardly obeyed. As it turned out to be Ditto was the ticklish type. It burst out into laughter and, before long, changed back to normal.

"What just happened here?"

"Do you think you could hold your concentration while laughing? Ditto needs a lot to maintain its transformations." Sophia explained. "You know so little about it yet claimed to be a good fit for it." She then mocked.

"Wait, you intruded in this fight. This is an one-on-one!" May accused.

"C'mon, I just helped out my partner. We're a team after all." The smaller brunette had a lot of fun observing her frustrated face. May shot her deadly stares. All of the sudden, she released her trusted Combusken. "What are you doing? Like you said this is an one-on-one fight?"

"Oh, don't worry. I'm also just helping out my partner." A look to Ash was all she needed to get him to understand what she meant while Sophia eyed her suspiciously.

"Ditto, use transform again."

"Okay, that does it. I didn't say anything so far but really this battle is getting out of hand. Think about your strategy. You are just going to copy our attacks because you're not familiar with Ivysaur. Our attacks are going to neutralize each other. Again. This rea-" Ash interrupted his complaint with another order issued to Ditto. Ryan's eyes grew wide with understanding as it finally dawn on him what they were up to. "Quick, tickle it again Ivysaur."

"Flamethrower!" Ash was quick to react. He had no trouble remembering any of Combusken's moves: He had spent countless minutes training with May. It was too late. Ivysaur was roasting under the powerful fire-attack. Its previous damage didn't help in the least as it lost consciousness. The audience looked at the battlefield, half of it in disbelief.

"That was brilliant, May. We won!" Ash lifted her in a victory hug. May's cheeks grew pink. The other pair was still stunned at this shocking development. Sophia was the first to break out of her trance. She detached three stars from her already well-decorated belt and handed them to May. This was her acknowledgment to May's part in her team's crushing defeat.

"You guys, hand me your Safaridex." Ryan didn't look bitter about his loss. In fact he looked quite pleased the battle had managed to entertain him even if it had cost his team three tokens. "As you probably know, its data isn't complete." He grabbed the item Ash handed him as instructed and pulled out his own. "I think it's the same for everyone. It seems you need to recover USB's or mini-disks to gather data. We found one of those yesterday. It contained the full digital map of the Safari Zone, this is what I'm transferring you right now."

"Awesome..." The action had barely taken seconds. Ash extended his hand to retrieve the improved Safaridex. His look of bewilderment amused Ryan. "This is great, we definitely have an edge now on Gary and Misty." Ash smiled victoriously to May. Sophia shot them a concerned look, a bit surprised by the mention of the familiar names.

"What is it?" Ash was puzzled. "Did I do anything wrong?" Maybe he wasn't holding the Safaridex right? Or he might have forgotten to tell them something?

"Nothing," Ryan reassured him. "It's just we befriended a couple with the same names. Not much to say. Interesting people, everything was cool until they broke into a huge fight. This one is under the crazy assumption that it was our fault," he quickly explained, gesturing to Sophia. She had a guilty expression that appeared at the accusation. "That guy obviously had his share of blame Sophia. Whatever, we should leave."

They hopped on Pidgeott that was still waiting for them and that was it of Ryan and Sophia.

"Don't you think they were talking about the same Gary and Misty we know?" May carefully asked Ash the question that was obviously bothering him. "It'd be too much of a coincidence if there was another couple with the exact same name."

"Pairing," he corrected, suddenly cold. May fidgeted uncomfortably in her position. The topic was still a bit taboo. _"I just hope she's alright," _Ash thought to himself.

* * *

"It's funny but I miss the couch."

Gary was implying how badly he had slept, outside, directly under the sky. Arcanine had offered as much comfort as it could, only comfort wasn't the issue. Mosquitoes turned out to be pretty aggressive and problematic at night and he was a defenseless target when asleep.

They had walked a fair distance since they first got up. They hadn't gained any new stars. They even had less than at the start. Nonetheless, it didn't bother Gary one bit because Misty had finally overlooked their past issues and was on speaking terms with him again. Better yet, it was as if they had a fresh start to their whole partnership.

They were heading south. That was the direction where they remembered the couple of thieves pointing at a gate. A gate that they needed more than four stars to cross. That was a safe conclusion as they also remembered how the obese man mentioned a need for four more tokens. Misty still wouldn't ride Arcanine. Nevertheless, this time her decision wasn't out of spite for Gary but out of concern for her new Pokemon friend. Misty was getting along surprisingly well with the giant canine. She kept on defending the Pokemon saying it was already both carrying their bags and fighting their battle, they could manage to walk on their own. However, Gary was in a better position to know about Arcanine's condition; his loyal Pokemon used to carry his bags and heavy equipment along with its trainer all the time when they were traveling.

_'Arcanine sure love__s__ the attention. I don't really mind walking, she just better not complain later.' _A peaceful clear area appeared in front of them. There was also a source of water. It was a river. "Let's have lunch." Gary decided.

* * *

_They had just eaten lunch. A bit tired of traveling, Misty was desperate for some fun. Resisting swimming was torture for the water-loving girl. She kept on staring at the nearby river with longing eyes. Poliwhirl was having fun. She had released the Pokemon earlier and it was doing exactly what she was itching so much to do. She was green with envy. She dreaded the time they would have to resume their journey. As if he was reading her thoughts, the boy next to her took off his t-shirt. Shamelessly, he stripped down all of his clothes. Only a pair of boxer remained. He ran and canon-balled into the water, splashing Misty in the process. An action that only moved him to chuckles. _

_"Join me, Mist." The command was drowned in laughter, after Misty's face showed shock. "I thought you liked water." He grinned. Misty was hesitant. She had wanted to swim but she was a bit embarrassed now that she couldn't erase the image of her partner - she had to remind herself - stripping. His torso had been a dreamy feature. She ran to her bags to get the swimming suit she had packed. She was blushing because she did think of mimicking her friend and just get in with only her underwear. She was a prude though. She quickly changed into her swimming costume, well hidden in a bush, then jumped into the river. She repaid the other swimmer for her wet clothes with playful splashing. _

_"Up for a little race?" He was up to know no good as demonstrated the sly smile on his face. "Or are you too afraid of losing?"_

_"Of course not. You should be though. First one to Poliwhirl and back?" Misty exclaimed. The unsuspecting Pokemon was at about 50 meters away and was just peacefully minding its own business. A moving target made things a bit more interesting. Her opponent nodded._

_"Okay! Ready? Set?" A suspense was summoned on purpose. "Hey!" Misty hadn't bothered to wait and went ahead and got a head start. Being the top swimmer she was, this was an unnecessary handicap for her opponent. In a matter of seconds, she had already almost reached Poliwhirl. The Pokemon, still oblivious to its surroundings, dove into the water when it was shoved down by Misty. She had been a little too forceful as her pursuer was pressuring her. _

_"Sorry Poliwhirl!" She exclaimed and was heading back to their original spot, the finish line to the race. She smirked as Poliwhirl had yet to be touched again. It would even be an impossible task as it was now weary of incomers. "Ash! Let me go!" He had probably realized that as well and changed tactics._

_"No way! You are not winning this." He had trapped her into one big embrace. Misty blushed at the skin contact. With the water being lower than body temperature, his touch was burning her skin and her heart joined the race. She tried to struggle out of the hug and yelled at him menacingly with no success. She was betrayed by her laughter which only encouraged her assailant to tighten his grip. She wished deep into her heart that he'd never let go. _

Misty sighed. She had been lost in her thoughts for awhile now. She had left Gary to go and refresh herself with a nice swim along with Poliwhirl. Water had always had a soothing effect on her. She should have expected her thoughts to drift away the same way her body was in the gentle moving waters. She had played a bit with Poliwhirl until it got away wanting to enjoy itself a bit more on its own. That had left her the time to completely relax, now that she was alone and without a care in the world for the first time in ages. Unfortunately, this time only reminded her of how much she missed Ash. Their reunion hadn't been as fantastic as she had so many times envisioned. For awhile, she had been in need of some more fantasies about her long-time crush to get over the pain of their now strained relation. That had always be the comfort she'd seek whenever something was bothering her about the aspiring Pokemon master.

She got out of the water and dried herself the best she could with her towel. She knew it would take some time for her hair but she had already been away for enough time. Gary would probably want to resume their quest. She changed into her clothes and set off to where she had last seen him.

* * *

When she arrived, she was greeted with an unfortunate sight. Some Rattatas were having a feast with their reserve of food. Gary, who seemed to also have been missing from the scene, returned. She heard him mutter an ugly word out loud as he rushed to make the unwanted company go away. She was still stunned. Arcanine was faster. It came from behind Gary and used a roar attack to make the weak Pokemon scatter off. The three of them looked at the remains in their bag of food. Most of it was gone.

"Weren't you guarding our bags?" Misty wasn't too happy about the situation.

"S-Something came up." Gary was also a bit out of it after what happened. As Misty's glare was intensifying he showed her two newly acquired star tokens. They were shining in the palm of his hand. "The guy was alone, he issued the challenge and we had to fight him." Arcanine nodded, agreeing with Gary's explanations. "How was I supposed to know this would happen?"

"Everybody knows Rattata go after stupid travelers' bags." Misty rationalized. "This shouldn't come as a surprise to a wannabe professor."

"Drop it will you?" Misty remembered her own mistake the day before, calmed down and quickly agreed to let it slide. Anyway, Gary would probably bash himself over it without her help. Misty checked up the Safaridex for any clue as to what to do next.

The situation was troublesome. They were exerting big amount of physical efforts daily for the next few days. They had to ensure themselves a reliable source of energy through a good diet. Sure, there was some food left and it wasn't a concern for tomorrow. However, this would grow to be a problem. Participants had been issued with just enough food to survive the Safari Quest in a decent state but they had been told they wouldn't renew any supply: It was their responsibility to manage the amount they had.

"According to the news feed, On this third day, 25% of contestants have been disqualified. 40% have already moved up from the 'Hall' region and half of the participants passed the 10 star tokens mark."

"Comforting. So I guess that's what these famous gates are about," Gary pondered. "So basically, the whole area is divided into regions. Gates should be the same as door access. We should be looking for them to advance."

"Well, that's food for thoughts," Misty acknowledged. "Now, any thoughts for food?"

* * *

**End of chapter **

_Sorry for the somewhat late update. And hum for the chapter not being as good as the other but in this one I was just introducing the plot for the next chapter and showing how one of the two teams caught their first pokemon. I was focused on the goal to update ASAP too… so I may have neglected some stuff… SORRY ! guess im not perfect hehe :P Also I'm slightly trying to show how the teams are going through different ways and using different terms (example area and regions) to try to make it realistic and avoid it becoming a pursuit of Ash and May by Gary and Misty. It's a race but not a pursuit where they have to go through the same things. Sophia and Ryan are also reintroduced in this chap, I'm not sure though if they'll see again other teams they beat. First introduction of Team Rocket!_

_Neways thanks for reading, my big June exams are next week… :S _

_Wish me luck! must study!_

_C ya!_

_Michelicious_

_PS: Does anyone know if Ditto when it changes into another pokemon keep his normal type or takes the other pokemon_ones?

**PRESENT ME:**

**Back-to-back updates ! To what honor ? It actually hit me that today was the 7th anniversary of this fic (oh boyyy). So yep, released this one chapter early. Should also make up for all the tardiness. Just a bit. Thanks for reading and also it is always appreciated to receive feedback. To date, it was relatively easy as I was rewriting chapters but I'm soon gonna hit up the spot where I got my writer's block haha. It's gonna be tricky. Wish me luck!  
**


	10. Of Bugs and Men

**Hey happy new year 2013, this will definitely be the year I finish this...before I forget it somewhere in a dark corner of my mind. Thank you for those sticking with this. It used to bother me a bit the number of new reviews when next to this story traffic stats but really, I think I just want to get this done. ****Just for closure, at the very least.**

**Here it is. Thank you.**

* * *

**Chapter 9 – Of Bugs and Men**

* * *

Gary and Misty were now following the river upstream while, in turn, Arcanine followed them. Their bags and effects were placed once again on its back, bouncing irritably from left to right with each step, albeit them being significantly lighter than what they used to be. Although one would think the canine to be a bit relieved at the loss of weight its packages suffered at the fangs of the Rattatas, the creature looked instead miserable in the face of the new burden it now shouldered; the heavy tension between its trainer and the human girl it had come to befriend was thick enough to be sliced with a knife. As an intuitive and sensitive being, the current mood was anything but welcome. The ears of the ever-faithful and proud companion sunk as low as its own morale. On the other hand, Poliwhirl seemed oblivious to all the drama going on around him. In fact, it was even quite cheerful ; being out for no battle-related reason seems to do wonders for its mood. If fresh air outside a pokeball was something the likes of Pikachu and Togepi were accustomed to, it was something only granted to the biped Pokemon inside the walls of the Cerulean Gym as it was more of a bother than anything else to Misty to let the Pokemon out on her journeys.

The team had previously agreed to stick close to the river since fishes, Pokemon and vegetation would be bound to be crossed near it. The former and the latter being food options, the idea, while suggested by Gary, didn't get any objection from the Cerulean leader. Both humans had been awfully quiet for once; no conversation, arguing, banter or even complaints had escaped their lips. Silence had soon become their newest companion as the two trainers were lost in thoughts as they chase down the never-ending horizon. The only time it deserted their party was on the few occasions they encountered trainers and were forced to engage in successive dialogues that couldn't really be accounted as conversations as they only appeared to be interactive. Both trainers were in their own separate worlds.

They were called back to reality when they spotted the opening of a forest in front of them where the slimming river seemed to lead. The acknowledgement of the sight still didn't stir a need for an exchange of words unfortunately and, defeated, Arcanine resigned itself to press on towards that new unofficial goal. However, progress was halted when it was no longer possible to go on ; the trainers collided... into thin air! It was physically impossible to continue as attested by Misty's furious attempts to knock down whatever invisible entity was blocking her path.

Never one to back down easily, she was hitting, kicking, shoving, screaming against the wall in complete contrast to the still and lost in thoughts Gary. With the determination and violence of a Stantler in rut season, she kept at it until she finally sighed and stopped herself as if the pain signals sent to her brain had finally been registered.

"So what now?"

The words sounded tired and foreign even to the redhead's ears. It was obvious that getting them out was more painful than all her previous self-destructive behavior; initiating conversation had been the last thing she wanted to do.

It didn't take a psychic-type to read the current mood or their minds. Their collaboration was being challenged again and again as if a higher authority was making it a personal goal to let them know how wrong their being together was. They weren't even part of the 40% that had made it to the next level! The only redeeming point to their unhealthy association was the promise of results. So far, the only thing going according to plan was Misty's not killing her partner and the confused girl didn't know if she were to be proud or ashamed of that. Misty sighed. Once again.

"Maybe we should look around."

He had finally decided to blessed her with some words apparently.

_About damn time, captain obvious._

On the lookout for a way to enter the forest, they were snooping around, bending over and examining anything that could be a clue as how to enter. Keeping a close eyes on each other in order not to investigate the same things, they still refused to interact more than what they were currently doing. They were driven by an obsessive need to make amends for their respective mistakes, to finally progress and, more importantly, to shove it in the other's face if they'd manage to find the solution.

Their efforts were awarded. Further away from the river, they found something they couldn't mistake for anything but a gate. It was huge, at least one story tall. The gray metallic didn't have any fence. Instead a threatening current of electricity blocked any access to the other side. On the left part of the gate, a keypad was installed right below a screen. Words were visible on the monitor.

"Twelve stars are needed to proceed." Misty read out loud. "How many have we got?"

"Four from yesterday, two from my battle and seven on our way there."

"Of course, it just would have _killed_ you to give me a straight answer," she accused.

"Rude of me to forget that I am brain and you are brawn. Let me," he interrupted whatever nasty retort she was about to launch at him and carefully moved her away from the screen in order to decipher the instructions on it. "Okay according to this, we need twelve star tokens equipped on our belts."

"Each?"

"No, total. Each belt has to have... this many stars on them," he said holding up both his hands, one with all fingers pointing upwards and the other with just the index up. In a deceptively calm demeanor, Misty pushed them away from her face. He went on with his explanation, but his usual smirk now taunting her. "As soon as we're set, we take them off and w-"

"Why on earth should we need to take off our belts?! You're not gonna pull that again on me Oak!"

"Our belts seem to each have a buckle-shaped storage medium probably embedded with a magnetic strip or a computer chip - I'd got with the former - and this keypad is obviously a data input device that can read them. However, there is still a matter of distance to be taken into account for them to be readable. So if you don't like my simple solution to just detach the belt and pass it over the scan, feel free to try and dry hump the thing. I certainly wouldn't stop you."

"Do you always have to act like such a smart ass when you're embarrassed?" An ironic question to ask as her own face was scarlet from Gary's insinuations and patronizing.

"I don't act like a smart ass, I am a smart ass. So let's just get this underway or do you need a private moment with the monitor Waterflower?"

She knew the battle was lost. He had completely unnerved her and she needed her confidence to regroup. With all of her dignity left, she proceeded to inspect her belt. She was so relieved to realize that she already had 6 star tokens on her belt and would not need to request some from the smug know-it-all. She took off her belt swiftly and, surprised Gary didn't comment, passed it over the screen. Nothing happened except for a two circles to appear on the keypad, one empty and one filled with blue along with a distinct sound.

Gary came over and passed his own. Only then did something the threatening electricity barrage disappear after the second empty circle on screen also turned completely into a permissive blue.

"CONGRATULATIONS TRAINERS." A mechanical voice erupted. "YOU HAVE ENOUGH SKILLS TO PROCEED."

"Ladies first."

"How chivalrous of you, Waterflower."

* * *

They had lost sight of the water stream. It hadn't been visible at first but a big rock wall separated them from where they knew the water source was at. None of them seemed to worry about it as they knew they would probably be able to reach it later on when the natural wall would come to an end.

On the bright side, the forest was thick with vegetation and berries, fruits and mushrooms were a common sight. Only the danger of food poisoning could have been alarming if Gary hadn't figured out that the safaridex could also identify plants, not just Pokemon, and which one were edible or not. He made it a point to remind his partner how much he was bringing to the table but unfortunately, her mind was miles away to even care or acknowledge it...

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I can tell because I used to study bugs and birds in forests with Gramps back in Pallet. It definitely sounded like a bird."

"You're just saying that to shut me up."

Misty was scared out of her mind.

The pregnant silence that used to stalk them not so long ago was replaced by incessant paranoia talk. She was so troubled that she even started to treat him as an unpleasant acquaintances instead of the pathetic excuse of a human being she had come to label him to be. The previously resumed enmity was again on pause as they were now civil again to each other.

He had had no idea that she had such a big bug phobia. Sure, bugs aren't exactly a girl's best friend but this was just extreme when you knew how fierce and fearless she usually was. How many sides were there to one Misty Waterflower?

"What if I am?" He had to find it in him not to laugh out loud when horror stroke her face. She slightly recovered when she spotted his amused smirk.

"Do not kid around with this," she warned. "I swear I will take out all of my stars and wait for the 'dead' status if you do."

"Okay, okay. No need to get so worked up. I won't mess with your irrational fear of bugs anymore. Do you want me to call out Arcanine?" To his credit, he did try. However, the smirk was there to stay. The giant auburn dog's trainer had deemed it important for it to get some rest as the trainers they were now to encounter would be much more skillful and require the Pokemon at its best condition.

"Geez, all these emotions are making me hungry." Misty sighed. She was mistaking his proposition as another attempt to mock her. He did not care to correct.

She went to the nearest fruit tree and tried to reach out for one. She wasn't tall enough. After her pathetic jumps in an attempt to make up for it, Gary went over to her and reached for the fruit over her, not thinking too much of the proximity between them hoping she'll excuse it in favor of his good deed. He picked up an apple and handed it to the young girl She acknowledged the gesture by accepting the fruit and sat down underneath the tree. She looked at him, probably half-expecting him to comment her ungrateful attitude or to join her. However, he was not looking at her.

"Waterflower..."

"Was it it? I'm not allowed a small break?"

"Of course, you can." Maybe agreeing with her so wholeheartedly wasn't such a good idea as now she was looking at him suspiciously.

"Then what is it?"

She bit into her apple. A jet of juice sprayed on her bottom lip and she avidly licked it away. She was visibly enjoying the sweet treat and for an unfathomable reason, the look on her face along with the enthusiasm with which she was eating was distracting him.

"I need you to remain calm."

"What have you done, now?" The question took a while to hit home. Despite the harsh accusation, she had dropped her former skepticism. There now was an innocent display of curiosity on her face suggesting that nothing in the world he could have done would have shocked her. He was at a temporary loss of words, she took her second bite. His silence probably made him guilty in her mind, yet again, she did not seem impressed by this realization.

And just like that, the unwelcome guest lowered down to land on the top of Misty's head. The events he had intended to stop from happening were slowly unfolding in front of his eyes.

Surprised, the once peaceful girl reached up to whatever was invading her messy hair. Although she hadn't kept it under control in the past few days and despite her tomboy behavior, apparently, she didn't seem to appreciate unidentified objects in it. Uncharacteristically detached from it all, he dutifully noted that it was one thing they had in common, no matter how benign. As the unmistakable feel seemed to register in her head, he wryly confirmed her doubts with mock sympathy.

New records were reached with the volume of the sound that came out of her lungs. It was comparable to the strident cry of a Noctowl and was as loud as the one of a roaring Onyx. She probably disturbed every living creature who had the bad luck of being gifted with ears. Gary went momentary deaf as a result of his proximity since she now had a firm grip around his neck. Never mind how she got there so fast, she was literally suffocating him!

"Air..." He barely managed to utter but it was of no use.

Her uninterrupted yelling buried his plea. Her panic turned out to be contagious; his heart started to race. He somehow managed to get the insect to fall off of her head in what an outsider could mistake for a weird semi-romantic awkward dance but the hope of calming down Misty quickly vanished. The poor and inoffensive Caterpie was now on the ground, confused and about to drop dead out of shock at any second. The heir to the Oak's fortune might have felt something close to pity for the thing if black spots hadn't started to invade his vision.

He was dangerously close to losing consciousness and Misty was still hysterically oblivious to the fact the Pokemon was no longer on her, or any threat for that matter. At this point, she was long gone. Nothing could reason her any longer. Not as long as the Pokemon was in sight. She was holding onto Gary as if it was her only chance to survival - which in turn endanger his _own_ chances - and the only exit to her nightmare. He could picture her eyes shut closed and the Caterpie ten times bigger and monstrous in her mind.

Gary had to do some quick thinking.

He grabbed one of his safariball and threw it with as much precision as he could summon at the moment with his blurring vision. As soon as he exert the last of his strength into that action, everything went black, as black as the fur of his treasured Umbreon.

* * *

"May wake up I'm done." As the named person opened her eyes, the sheepish expression of her friend greeted her. "Sorry, you got bored."

She was still drowsy and wondered how long she had been sleeping. May looked around then up at the sky to get an indication on the time. It was still clear to her relief. Ash had insisted that they elaborate new battle strategies including Ditto now that it was a member of the team. May had indulged until a pair of trainers had found and challenge them to a fight.

They had won of course, but their newly developed strategy hadn't really been as effective as Ash had hoped. So it was back to elaboration. Ash wasn't much of an intellectual usually but when it came down to Pokemon, he was suddenly a lot of things.

"So you guys are done?" She was referring to Swellow, Ditto and Combusken too.

She glanced around at her surroundings again. The same plain environment than before she closed her eyes met her. The grass was still tall but now had this yellowish and unhealthy appearance. The ground, when it wasn't engulfed in vegetation, was so dry it made you thirsty just looking at it. The sun was shining brightly as if it absolutely had to let people know that this whole scenery was its making. Looking back at her teammates who were all in front of her, she noticed a considerable amount of sweat on them. Ash had probably pushed himself again in the last fifteen minutes.

"It's so hot. Do you want some water?"

"Yes but you certainly could use some before."

"Am I sweating a lot? I just hope I don't smell."

Ash was slightly embarrassed. This was a side of him he didn't show often but that was still nice to see according to May. She had been so used to see him get down and dirty with his Pokemon on his many adventures that she had first been surprised to realize he even cared about hygiene. He rushed to get out a bottle of water out of his bag that was a few feet away. He threw the bottle at May.

"Here. In exchange for you not complaining if I do smell." He smiled. May caught it, giggling. "You took it, it's settled." It was obvious that Ash knew she wasn't the kind to mind such things. He was just being nice. She drank from the bottle.

"Thanks." She returned the water to him.

"Anything for a friend."

The guy was so thirsty, in barely seconds it was empty. May hadn't even drank a quarter of it! She felt this uneasiness. The same one that would always come whenever Ash would comment about how good of a friend she was. She didn't exactly know how long she had been feeling this way about this friendship but she did know she was being childish. Getting upset when someone appreciates you wasn't the most mature thing in the world.

"Friendship. It's great."

Ash was now putting back the empty recipient in his bag. Soon, the bag was on his back. It was time to move, they had used up enough time to rest. He had been done with Ditto's training for about twenty minutes. It's just that when he realized how tired May had been, he hadn't had the heart to wake her up. He was complaining about the lack of food but this much exercise daily wasn't really anything new to him; he was a healthy boy, used to traveling. Although May had been traveling with him for awhile now, Brock was always there to set a pace. He had been annoyed at himself when he had realized how inconsiderate he had been. His friend was way too nice to complain about anything.

A moving figure caught his eye. His heart stopped. A Weedle was by May's feet, she just hadn't noticed yet. Surely, she would see it while getting up and picking up her bag that was also at her feet. He had to do something.

"Hey May, you still look kind of tired."

"I just rested, Ash. I'm going to be alright."

"I just don't want you to push yourself." May flashed him a grateful smile but by the look on her face she was still determined to get going. "Let me offer you a massage, at the very least," he pleaded. "This would put me more at ease."

"If you insist..." May was puzzled to say the least. Ash approached her.

"Close your eyes."

The command, even for a massage was unusual but May didn't complain. Ash was probably new to this anyway. Her heart started to race, this was beyond her control. She knew it was just for a massage but there was something a bit exhilarating about letting a boy asking for her to close her eyes. Not only that, he was about to touch her body on top of that. It was an intimate gesture and when one asks another to close their eyes, they usually meant to kiss them. Okay, now she was blushing. She almost gasped when she felt Ash's hands' warmth upon her. Although the weather had been killing her not so long ago, this new source of heat was far from unwanted.

In the meantime, Ash was trying to think of a strategy to get the insect away without alerting May. He was close enough and her eyes were closed, that was a good start. The only problem was that the bug was in front of her and he wasn't. He tried to intimidate the Weedle but the pest wasn't even paying attention to him. It just enjoyed the show as Ash's glare wasn't the most persuasive thing in the world. He couldn't do this alone. He tried to move his body and make weird, threatening expressions in order to catch Combusken's or Swellow's attention; Ditto wouldn't be too helpful.

"This feels good." May surprised him. He had forgotten he was supposed to _massage _her.

"It does? Great! Combusken, would you want one too?" This was to get its attention. May felt the same disappointment from before. She was stupid to think for a second that there was more than friendship to Ash's unusual actions. "Get over here, I'll be done soon."

Combusken curiously glanced at Ash. It didn't quite catch what he was doing to its trainer but it could understand that Ash wanted him to come. Also, he had a funny expressions on his face. The Pokemon hurried to its master's side. As it got there, it noticed the bug too. Ash's meaningful looks helped him understand that it was a problem.

"Get it away. Quick." Ash mouthed. It was a mute order but Combusken understood again with the help of Ash's body language. Combusken obeyed. Only, its methods weren't as subtle as Ash would have liked.

"What's going on?" May jerked away from her position. Combusken had fired a fireball at the Weedle. The pokemon had fled but May had almost been burned.

"There was a bug besides you. Combusken and I made it go away." Ash offered an explanation. "I just didn't want it to startle you."

"Is that why you offered me a massage?" Ash nodded. May burst out in laughter. This was so typical of Ash. "Dummy, you could have just told me! I would have just gotten away, you know."

"Don't you hate bugs?"

"I don't like them very much but I'm not scared of them to death anymore." Question marks were all over his face. "Beautifly helped me get over my fear, don't you remember?" She was amused. He had gone through all that just for her sake. Ash could be the sweetest boy ever sometimes.

"Oh." That was an awkward situation. "It's just that Misty is so scared of them. She would have destroyed my eardrums at the sight of that Weedle," he tried to justify his actions. He had an apologetic smile on; he knew how silly he sounded.

"Misty...Of course. Let's go. We're already behind schedule." May grabbed her bag.

**End of chapter**

_Sorry for the long wait… and the mediocrity of this chapter I don't know I wasn't motivated to finish it and then I was too much busy and with a huge author block. I don't care I'm just at least updating chapter 10… Don't worry ill try to make next chapter better … thanks for your patience. Oh yeah… new story coming out soon its short about 4 chapters … so im gonna pause this to finish it don't worry it wont be too long :P lol_

_Kk c ya!_

_michelicious_

**PRESENT ME: So this is where I first stopped before hitting a huge writer's block and pausing this story for like 4-5 years. . . Yeah. The road gets bumpy from here on. Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think.**


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